Manuscript Illumination

1 Course Unit

This course will provide an overview of the history, materials, and techniques of manuscript illumination through the lens of Philadelphia's rich and varied holdings. The course will also chart the sometimes surprising means by which such objects arrived in North American collections from the nineteenth century through to the present. Handling sessions will form a key part of the course. We will begin by examining items at the Kislak Center before venturing to other local institutions including the Free Library and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, with possible study-day excursions to New York and Baltimore. Student research assignments will involve the close individual study of a single illuminated manuscript. 1 Course Unit