repository of the ancient and medieval organ

A miniature of a woman playing the organ

Public domain image

Date: 1370-1380
Location: New York, Morgan Library and Museum, M.88, f. 23
Author: Not documented
Technique and materials: Illuminated manuscript
Dimensions: Not documented
Provenance:

Metz, Moselle, France

At the opening of Psalm 1, the initial letter “B” is decorated with leaf motifs and encloses within it the figure of King David. The sovereign, wearing his crown, is seated cross-legged on a bench playing the harp, set against a background decorated with a lattice pattern. The margins of the page offer a rich variety of animated scenes. On the lower border, along a bar decorated with leaves, a hooded man plays a small guitar, while a monkey points to a curious scene: a woman intent on playing an organ while a man behind her operates the bellows to produce the sound. In the right margin the decoration continues with a man playing a curved horn, the whole accompanied by various small bird figures populating the edges of the page.

organarium

repository of the ancient and medieval organ

Retracing music and arts networks
enhancing education and
promoting cultural heritage preservation

Contact

Project e-mail
jerus-it-arts@fadbrera.edu.it.it

Marco Negroni
Brera Academy of Fine Arts
marconegroni@fadbrera.edu.it

Repository gitHub

Partners

CC 2026 Organarium / CUP project n. E33C24000160006