Treatises on divination and geomancy
Manuscript
c. 1466-1469 (made)
c. 1466-1469 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
89 leaves : parchment, col. ill.
Text begins: Incipit ars completa geomanciae. Quoniam quamplures praedecessorum nostrorum de quibus post deum tenemus ...
Layout: 38 long lines.
Script: Italian humanistic script.
Decoration: Title page text in gold, blue, red and green capitals; illuminated initials (1 historiated); astronomical tables and diagrams; illuminated coat of arms.
Binding: Light-brown calf binding, blind and gold tooled; sides decorated with a wide border and centre ornament incorporating a fleur-de-lys.
Possibly written in Rome.
Text begins: Incipit ars completa geomanciae. Quoniam quamplures praedecessorum nostrorum de quibus post deum tenemus ...
Layout: 38 long lines.
Script: Italian humanistic script.
Decoration: Title page text in gold, blue, red and green capitals; illuminated initials (1 historiated); astronomical tables and diagrams; illuminated coat of arms.
Binding: Light-brown calf binding, blind and gold tooled; sides decorated with a wide border and centre ornament incorporating a fleur-de-lys.
Possibly written in Rome.
Object details
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| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | |
| Brief description | Manuscript, Ars completa geomantiae, once attributed to the translator Gerard of Cremona (1113/1114-1187), Italy (Padua), c. 1466-1469. |
| Physical description | 89 leaves : parchment, col. ill. Text begins: Incipit ars completa geomanciae. Quoniam quamplures praedecessorum nostrorum de quibus post deum tenemus ... Layout: 38 long lines. Script: Italian humanistic script. Decoration: Title page text in gold, blue, red and green capitals; illuminated initials (1 historiated); astronomical tables and diagrams; illuminated coat of arms. Binding: Light-brown calf binding, blind and gold tooled; sides decorated with a wide border and centre ornament incorporating a fleur-de-lys. Possibly written in Rome. |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Unique |
| Gallery label | TREATISES ON DIVINATION HEADED 'THE COMPLETE ART OF GEOMANCY'
About 1466-9 Possibly by Gerald of Cremona (1114-87)
The text explains how to foretell the future and read the hidden meanings of natural and 'supernatural' signs. A 12th century inventory attributes this translation to Gerald of Cremona, who sought out Arabic texts in Toledo, a centre for scholarship in Islamic Spain. Rare texts of this kind were much prized by Renaissance scholars.
Italy, possibly Padua
Ink on parchment, with watercolour and gold
Written out about 1466-9 by Bartolomeo Sanvito (about 1435 - about 1511)
Museum no. MSL/1950/2464 (Phillips MS. 5839)
(24/03/2018) |
| Object history | Collection of Sir Thomas Phillipps (1792-1872): formerly known as Phillipps MS.5839. Collection of Frederick North, Earl of Guildford: his armorial bookplate. |
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| Collection | |
| Library number | MSL/1950/2464 |
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| Record created | March 1, 2017 |
| Record URL |
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