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Carpet page
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A carpet page from the Lindisfarne Gospels
Carpet pages are a characteristic feature of Insular illuminated manuscripts. They are pages of mainly
geometrical ornamentation, which may include repeated animal forms, typically placed at the beginning
of each of the four Gospels in Gospel Books. The designation "carpet page" is used to describe those
pages in Christian, Islamic, or Jewish illuminated manuscripts that contain little or no text and which are
filled entirely with decorative motifs.[1][2][3] They are distinct from pages devoted to highly decorated
historiated initials, though the style of decoration may be very similar.[4]
Carpet pages are wholly devoted to ornamentation with brilliant colors, active lines, and complex
patterns of interlace. They are normally symmetrical, or very nearly so, about both a horizontal and
vertical axis, though for example the page at right is only symmetrical about a vertical axis. Some art
historians find their origin in similar Coptic decorative book pages,[5] and they also clearly borrow from
contemporary metalwork decoration. Oriental carpets, or other textiles, may themselves have been
influences. The tooled leather book binding of the St Cuthbert Gospel represents a simple carpet page in
another medium,[6] and the few surviving treasure bindings - metalwork book covers or book shrines -
from the same period, such as that on the Lindau Gospels, are also close parallels.[7] Roman floor
mosaics seen in post-Roman Britain, are also cited as a possible source.[8] The Hebrew Codex Cairensis,from 9th century Galilee, also contains a similar type of page, but stylistically very different.
The earliest surviving example is from the early 7th century Bobbio Orosius, and relates more closely to
Late Antique decoration. There are notable carpet pages in the Book of Kells, Lindisfarne Gospels, Book
of Durrow, and other manuscripts.[9]
Carpet pages are also found in some medieval Hebrew manuscripts, typically opening the major sectionsof the book. Islamic manuscripts, especially Qu'rans, often have pages entirely devoted to complex
geometrical decoration, but the term is not usually used of them.
Contents
1 Gallery
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2 Notes
3 References
4 Further reading
5 External links
Gallery
Folio 1v of the early 7th century Bobbio Orosius contains the oldest surviving carpet page in any
insular manuscript.
Early insular example from the Book of Durrow
KellsFol033rCarpetPage v2.jpg
Arabischer Maler um 1180 001.jpg
Arabischer Maler um 1375 001.jpg
Al-Bawwb 001.jpg
Leningrad Codex Carpet page e.jpg
Notes
Jump up ^ The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Elizabeth Howie: DUBLIN, TRINITY COLLEGE
MS A.4.5 (57) GOSPEL BOOK (BOOK OF DURROW)[1]
Jump up ^ British Library, Mamluk Qur'an
Jump up ^ West Semitic Research Project, The Leningrad Codex Carpet Page
Jump up ^ Calkins, 36-37
Jump up ^ Calkins, 53
Jump up ^ Calkins, 53
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Jump up ^ Calkins, 57-60
Jump up ^ Calkins, 53
Jump up ^ Calkins, 36-37, 46-62
References
Calkins, Robert G. Illuminated Books of the Middle Ages. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press,
1983.
Nordenfalk, Carl. Celtic and Anglo-Saxon Painting: Book Illumination in the British Isles. 600-800. New
York: George Braziller Publishing. 1977.
Pacht, Otto. Book Illumination in the Middle Ages. England: Harvey Miller Publishers. 1984.
Further reading
Alexander, J.J.G. A Survey of Manuscripts Illuminated in the British Isles: Volume One: Insular
Manuscripts from the 6th to the 9th Century. London England: Harvey Miller. 1978.
Brown, Michelle P. Understanding Illuminated Manuscripts: A Guide to Technical Terms. Malibu,California: The J. Paul Getty Museum. 1994.
Laing, Lloyd and Jennifer. Art of the Celts: From 700 BC to the Celtic Revival. Singapore: Thames and
Hudson. 1992.
Megaw, Ruth and Vincent. Celtic Art: From its Beginnings to the Book of Kells. New York: Thames and
Hudson. 2001.
External links
Treasures of early Irish art, 1500 B.C. to 1500 A.D.: from the collections of the National Museum of
Ireland, Royal Irish Academy, Trinity College, Dublin, an exhibition catalogue from The Metropolitan
Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on carpet pages
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Categories:
Iconography of illuminated manuscripts
Book design
Celtic art
Decorative knots
Hiberno-Saxon manuscripts