LIFE AS MYTH
JOURNAL
JOURNAL 2014
The poetics of grace
On shells and nests
LIFEWORKS
ATLAS
WINTER 2014
IMAGING THE WORD
The annunciation (detail), Limbourg Brothers, The Belles Heures of Jean of France, Duke of Berry*. Ink, tempera, and gold leaf on vellum. The Cloisters Collection. Metropolitan Museum of Art. ca. 1406-09. *Item, une belles Heures, tres bien et richement historiees [Item, a beautiful hours, very well and richly illuminated];
Goddess Saraswathi, Raja Ravi Varma. 1896. Maharaja Fateh Singh Museum, Lakshmi Vilas Palace, Vadodara, Gujarat.
In the Middle Ages books were usually displayed on ornate stands [detail above from The Belles Heures]. Since books were scarce and quite valuable it was not unusual for books to be chained to their stands as a measure against theft.
