Byzantine Manuscripts and Illuminations

Artistic depictions from Byzantine manuscripts, featuring religious figures and allegorical scenes rendered in vibrant, decorative styles.

Byzantine art. The Monk James (James of Kokkinobaphos) Homilies on the Virgin (12th century). Ascension (centre), David (right, wearing crown) and Isiah (left). Paris, Bibliotheque Ntionale.

The Seventy-two Disciples. Unknown

Mother of God of the Burning Bush by Russian icon / Private Collection / Russian icon painting / 17th century / Russia, Moscow School / Tempera on panel / Bible /

Chorus of women, detail from Amrita-Raja banner, 1755, colour on silk, ambrosia painting, from the temple of Kukch'ong-Sa, South Korea. Detail. Korean Civilisation, Joseon dynasty, 18th century.

Vrishaketu Shoots Babhruvahana into the Air on a Circle of Arrows (recto), Babhruvahana Resumes his Fight with Vrishaketu (verso), Scenes from the Story of Babhruvahana, Folio from a Mahabharata (War of the Great Bharatas). India, Maharashtra, Paithan, circa 1850. Drawings; watercolors. Opaque watercolor on paper

BEATO DE SAN SALVADOR DE TABARA - COMENTARIOS AL APOCALIPSIS-MOZARABE - SANTO GRIAL - SIGLO X. Author: BEATO DE LIEBANA. Location: CATEDRAL-ARCHIVO CAPITULAR. GERONA. SPAIN.

18th century Murals frescos paintings in Adinath Jain temple at Vidur village near Tindivanam, Tamil Nadu, South India, India, Asia

fine arts, religious art, Jesus Christ, Jesus and Nicodemus, painting, Dalecarlian rustic painting, 19th century, Dalarnas museum, Falun, Europe, Sweden, Dalarna, religion, christianity, popular art,

Surveyors sitting in a circle during a meeting. Miniature of the 14th century.

Miniature of a Bishop blessing the annual fair, held for two weeks, on the plains of St. Denis. Dated 10th Century

Tikhvinskaia Bogoroditsa, s chudesami.. Rovinski, D. A. (Dmitri Aleksandrovich), 1824-1895. Prints. 1881. Rare Book Division. Folk art , Russia (Federation), Russia , Social life and customs, Engraving, Russian

Sarasvadi on a swan, Krishna playing the flute between two devotees and the god Ganesha, watercolour, 85x24.5 cm, India. Indian Civilisation.

Armenian Christian illustrated manuscript showing the Genealogy of Jesus Christ; 14th century

Medallion (Egypt); warp; s-spun two ply z-twist linen. wefts; s-spun linen, s-spun wools

The Seventy-two Disciples. Unknown

Jerusalem, Armenian Cathedral library 12th century manuscript showing the entombment

19th century Ethiopian Coptic Christian prayer book. Illustration showing Virgin Mary circa 1870

Saint Luke; Nicomedia (or), Turkey; early 13th century; Tempera colors and gold leaf on parchment; Leaf: 20.6 x 14.9 cm (8 1,8 x 5 7,8 in.)

Russian icon with St George by unknown painter, tempera on panel, 16th century, Russia, Moscow, State Tretyakov Gallery

Ghazan Khan with his wife Kokachin at court, from a 13th century Mongolian painting. Kokachin was a 13th century Mongol princess from the Yuan dynasty in China, belonging to the Mongol Bayaut tribe. In 1291, she was betrothed to the Ilkhanate khan Arghun by the Mongol Great Khan Kublai. This followed a request by Arghun to his grand-uncle Kublai to send him a relative of his dead wife, and Kublai chose the 17-year-old Kokotchin ('Blue, or Celestial, Lady'). Kublai, from his capital of Khanbaliq (the Khan's city, modern day Beijing) entrusted Marco Polo with his last duty, to escort princess Kokechin to Arghun. The party traveled by sea, departing from the southern port city of Quanzhou in the spring of 1291. There were 14 big ships in all, and each had 4 masts and 12 sails. They set out from Quanzhou, sailing to Sumatra, and then to Persia, via Sri Lanka and India (where his visits included Mylapore, Madurai and Alleppey, which he nicknamed Venice of the East). They arrived around 1293

The throne, miniature from the Oracle of Leo the Wise, manuscript, Greece 16th Century.

Chittra Shala courtyard with virtuoso fine paintings, Taragarh Fort, Bundi, Bundi, Rajasthan, India, Asia

Saint John freeing the princess of Trebizond from a dragon, miniature, Coptic art, 18th Century.

URRACA REINA - CODICE EMILIANENSE - MOZARABE - FOL 453R - SIGLO X. Location: MONASTERIO-BIBLIOTECA-COLECCION. SAN LORENZO DEL ESCORIAL. MADRID. SPAIN.

David playing the lyre, miniature of a medieval Psalter, Greek manuscript.

Detail from a 19th century enamel and glazed picture depicting the Hindu legend of the Ramayana. The Ramayana is one of the two epic Hindu poems, the other being the Mahabharata. The Ramayana describes a love story between Rama, an ancient King, and Sita, who is captured by Ravan, the King of Ceylon. Rama lays siege to Ceylon and wins back Sita

The Seventy-two Disciples; Unknown; Ethiopia, Africa; about 1480 - 1520; Tempera on parchment; Leaf: 34.5 x 25.6 cm (13 9/16 x 10 1/16 in.)

FOLIO 179 V. Author: BEATO DE LIEBANA. Location: CATEDRAL-MUSEO DIOCESANO. SEO DE URGEL. Lerida. SPAIN.

Saint George with Scenes from His Life by Russian icon / State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg / Russian icon painting / 14th century / Russia, Novgorod School / Tempera on panel / Bible / 89x63

Lacquered cardboard book cover depicting travellers arriving at a caravanserai (roadside inn). Indo-Persian civilization 18th century. Detail: Musicians.

The Prophet Muhammad preaching his final sermon to his earliest converts, on Mount Ararat near Mecca; taken from a medieval-era manuscript of the astronomical treatise 'The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries' by the Persian scholar al-Biruni; currently housed in the collection of Edinburgh University Library, Scotland. Representations of the Prophet Muhammad are controversial, and generally forbidden in Sunni Islam (especially Hanafiyya, Wahabi, Salafiyya). Shia Islam and some other branches of Sunni Islam (Hanbali, Maliki, Shafi'i) are generally more tolerant of such representational images, but even so the Prophet's features are generally veiled or concealed by flames as a mark of deep respect.

superstition chiromancy meditation image ""Hastkara - Yantra"" watercolour Rajasthan India 18th century,

Historic illustration, German ornaments, book covers, "Lemperts Bilderatlas zur Geschichte des deutschen Buchhandels"

Depicting thirteen holy men, this diptych is sized for an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian church or elite home. The painter has set this scene of holy men in the context of his present-day Ethiopian surrounds him. Each saint wears fashionable clothing imported from India. While each is posed and dressed similarly to emphasize their group identity, the artist portrayed their faces and hairstyles individually. Diptych with Twelve Apostles & St. Paul, c. 1700. Workshop or Circle of Wäldä Maryam (Ethiopia, active 1700s). Tempera, wood, textile; 39 x 51 cm (15 3/8 x 20 1/16 in.).

Madrid Skylitzes: Battle between the Byzantines and the Arabs. Folio 73V. Madrid, Biblioteca Nacional de España. Author: John Skylitzes (11th cent.). Location: BIBLIOTECA NACIONAL-COLECCION, MADRID, SPAIN.

The Sack of Amorium by the Abbasids in mid-August 838 represents one of the major events in the long history of the Byzantine-Arab Wars. The exceptionally large Abbasid army was led by the Caliph al-Mu'tasim (r. 833-842), who was eager to avenge the almost unopposed expedition launched by the Byzantine emperor Theophilos (r. 829-842) into the Caliphate's borderlands the previous year. The Abbasids penetrated deep into Byzantine Asia Minor, defeating the emperor at Anzen, sacking Ancyra and finally reaching Amorium at the time one of Byzantium's largest cities and the birthplace of its ruling Amorian dynasty. The city fell after a short siege, probably by treason, and a large part of its inhabitants were slaughtered, with the remainder driven off as slaves.

Medical Students, Arabic miniature, 13th Century.

Saint John, miniature from Tetraevangelium, manuscript, 1502, Romania.

Peacock Throne, from a Set of Initiation Cards (Tsakali) 1299-1499 Tibet. Ink and watercolor on paper .

A Sultan with two guards, Seljuks miniature from The best rulings and the most precious sayings of Al-Moubachir, manuscript, Turkey 10th Century.

Kalpasutra (Book of Sacred Precepts) Manuscript. India, Gujarat or Rajasthan, 1475-1500. Manuscripts. Folios: Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper; Covers: silk brocade

Yahya ibn Mahmod al-Wasiti was a 13th-century Arab Islamic artist. Al-Wasiti was born in Wasit in southern Iraq. He was noted for his illustrations of the Maqam of al-Hariri. Maqama (literally 'assemblies') are an (originally) Arabic literary genre of rhymed prose with intervals of poetry in which rhetorical extravagance is conspicuous. The 10th century author Badi' al-Zaman al-Hamadhani is said to have invented the form, which was extended by al-Hariri of Basra in the next century. Both authors' maqamat center on trickster figures whose wanderings and exploits in speaking to assemblies of the powerful are conveyed by a narrator. Manuscripts of al-Hariri's Maqamat, anecdotes of a roguish wanderer Abu Zayd from Saruj, were frequently illustrated with miniatures.

Vision of Saint John in the apocalypse. Old 19th century engraved illustration from Jesus Christ by Veuillot 1890

St George and dragon by unknown painter, tempera on panel, 14th century, Novgorod School, Russia, St Petersburg, State Russian Museum, 89x63

Church of St. James Ancient tiles from 1719 A.D. of New Testament scenes. 1934, Jerusalem, Israel

Two panel painting, distemper on gesso on wood. The left panel depicts a saint on a white horse on a red and green background. The right panel depicts Mary in a blue robe holding the Christ child in a red robe, flanked by angels with blue wings. The angels hold small disks. There is paint loss in the area of the horse's head. Fragments of green and red distemper on gesso remain on the exterior of the panels. Date: late 16th-early 17th century. Maker: Ethiopian Orthodox. Distemper and gesso on wood. Museum: National Museum of African Art.

Byzantine drapery, Middle Ages, Byzantine ornament

camel, hand made painting & old stamp paper, jaipur, rajasthan, india Copyright: xBhagwandasxRupani/DinodiaxPhotox

Queen of Sheba Royal Court. Story of King Salomon and Queen of Sheba, Ethiopia, 20th c. Contemporary Art. Painting. Private Collection.

SKYLITZER, John (9th century). Madrid Skylitzes 'Synopsis historiarum'. Synopsis of Histories about the reigns of the Byzantine emperors. 12th c. War against the Bulgarians (893). The army of Byzantium is prosecuted by the Bulgarians. Manuscript produced in Sicily. Byzantine art. Miniature Painting. SPAIN. MADRID (AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY). Madrid. National Library.

Master of Soriguerola (active late 13th century-early 14th century). Panel of Saint Michael. Detail depicting left to right and top to bottom: Saint Michael with the devil weighing souls; an angel delivering the soul of a chosen one to Saint Peter; the blessed; the damned souls in hell and Saint Michael struggling with the dragon. End of 13th century. From the Parish Church of Sant Miquel de Soriguerola (Fontanals de Cerdanya, Catalonia). National Art Museum of Catalonia. Barcelona. Catalonia. Spain.

The conquest of Novgorod by Ivan III in 1478. Deportation of Martha Posadnitsa, noble Novgorodians and the veche bell to Moscow. Artist A. D. Kivshenko.

Turkey/Arabia: Two philosophers debating (to the right, possibly, Abu Yusuf al Kindi), 'The best rulings and the most precious sayings of Al-Mubashshir', 13th century CE

St George and the Dragon, Kremikovtsi Monastery, 1667. ENGLAND.

Thorn crown etc. / book illus. / Echtern

Fresco with St. Demetrius, Annunciation Monastery Church, Moldovita, South Bukovina, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Annunciation, Moldova, Frescoes, Europe

The Vatopedi monastery, Greece , 1918 - Greece - Fernand Cuville - (September) (French - Le monastère de Vatopedi , Grèce). Christianity, calligraphy, monastery, saint, drawing, Religion , Art

SKYLITZER, John (9th century). Madrid Skylitzes 'Synopsis historiarum'. Synopsis of Histories about the reigns of the Byzantine emperors. 12th c. Battle between the Hungarians and the Bulgarians of Simeon I. Manuscript produced in Sicily. Byzantine art. Miniature Painting. SPAIN. MADRID (AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY). Madrid. National Library.

Page from a Liturgical Psalm Book 1813 Artist Unknown Book illustration Jewish Museum, Prague, Czech Republic

Prophet, miniature from a commentary, France 12th Century.

The vision of King Baralaam from a tree: King Baralaan renounces his crown and becomes a monk, illuminated pages, Coptic art, 17th Century.

Tile in the Armenian Cathedral of St. James, Jerusalem 1934, Israel

Persians paying tribute to Alexander the Great on the throne, miniature from the The History of Alexander the Great by Pseudo-Callisthenes, Parchment Codex by the scribe Nerses, Greek manuscript 424, 13th-14th Century.

The Four Sons.

19th century Ethiopian Coptic Christian prayer book. Illustration showing a Magi or wise man circa 1870

The Magi, miniature from a liturgical parchment book, Coptic manuscript, 18th-19th Century.

The Saints Isaac, Abraham and Jacob, fresco in the Orthodox rock church Abuna Yemata Guh, Gheralta region, Tigray, Ethiopia, Africa

Saint John. Unknown

Tokhtamysh and the armies of the Golden Horde rally in front of Moscow. Tokhtamysh (c. 1342-1406) was a prominent Khan of the Blue Horde who briefly unified the White Horde and Blue Horde subdivisions of the Golden Horde into a single state. He has been cited as the last great ruler of the Golden Horde territories

Iraq: A group of Arab men travelling in a boat. A miniature from the 'Maqam' or 'Assembly' illustrated by Yahya ibn Mahmud al-Wasiti, 1237 CE

Sussel Washington Artist, Baptismal Wish for Catarina Titzlir, c 1765 Baptismal Wish for Catarina Titzlir

Discover of Moses / Jewish Illumination

Solomon or Alexander. Two prayers written on parchment identify Solomon as the bearded face and Alexander as the central character.

From an illuminated Ottoman dua kitabi or 'prayer book' by Hasan Rashid (Istanbul, 1845) once the property of a Topkapi harem lady. The Arabic term 'du'a' is generally translated into English as 'prayer', though a more exact rendering would be 'supplication'. The term is derived from an Arabic word meaning to 'call out' or to 'summon', and Muslims regard this as a profound act of worship. This is when Muslims connect with God and ask him for forgivness or appeal for his favour. The Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said 'Dua is the very essence of worship', while one of Allah's commands expressed through the Qur'an is for Muslims to call out to Him: 'Call to Me; I will answer your prayers'. There is a special emphasis on du'a in Muslim spirituality and early Muslims took great care to record the supplications of Muhammad and transmit them to subsequent generations. These traditions precipitated new genres of literature in which prophetic supplications were gathered together in singl

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