Encounters at the Morgan (Part IV) — Art, History, and the Written Word

Clay Foundation Cylinder of King Nebuchadnezzar II with Cuneiform Inscription, Neo-Babylonian period, reign of Nebuchadnezzar II (ca. 604-562 B.C.)

No visit to the Morgan Library & Museum would be complete without spending time in J. Pierpont Morgan’s magnificent historic library. Its richly decorated interiors and remarkable holdings make it one of Manhattan’s great cultural treasures. The rotating collection spotlight offers a glimpse into centuries of artistic and intellectual achievement through rare books, manuscripts, and other objects.

I was equally impressed by A Generous Bequest, a small exhibition in the Lower Level showcasing fragments of exquisite medieval manuscripts collected by the late Roger S. Wieck, a distinguished scholar whose lifelong devotion to illuminated manuscripts helped enrich the Morgan’s holdings.

Together, these displays made for a thoroughly enjoyable visit. The Morgan remains one of my favorite places in New York, a sanctuary of art, history, and beauty amid the bustle of the city.

~ BY Giovanni di Napoli, November 12th, Feast of San Martino I

(L) Block Figure Dedicated to Amun-Ra by Thanefer, Egypt, Thirtieth Dynasty, ca. 380-340 B.C. Mottled dark gray granite. (R) Donor Presenting a Mummified Osiris (Osiriphoros), Egypt, Thebes, Twenty-Sixth Dynasty, ca. 640-600 B.C. Gray-green schist 

(L) Running Eros, holding a Torch, bronze, 2nd or 1st century B.C. Hellenistic. (R) Foundation Figure of a Kneeling God Holding a Peg, Mesopotamia, period of Gudea (ca. 2144-2124 B.C.); copper 

(L) The Virgin Adoring the Christ Child, Glazed terracotta relief, atelier of Andrea della Robbia, 1435?-1525?. (R) Virgin and Saints Adoring the Christ Child, tempera on panel, approximately 1450-1523, Perugino

(L) Bust of Christ Child, marble with nineteenth-century metal halo, 1427-1479, attributed to Antonio Rossellino. (R) Bust of a Woman, marble, approximately 1436–1504, attributed to Gregorio di Lorenzo

(L) Man Walking to Church, single leaf from a Book of Hours, in Latin, illuminated by the Master of the Lee Hours, Belgium, Bruges, ca. 1460. (R) Nativity, single leaf from a Book of Hours, in Latin, illuminated by the Egerton Master's workshop, France, Paris, ca. 1418

(L) Kissing the Paten, cutting from a Book of Hours, in Latin, illuminated by the Master of Morgan 293, France, Besançon, 1430s. (R) Chanting the Office of the Dead, single leaf from a Book of Hours, illuminated by the Master of Marguerite d' Escornaix, Belgium, probably Ghent, ca. 1440s

(L) Host Desecration Tale of 1290, France, Paris, 1530s. (R) Sacred Bleeding Host of Dijon, single leaf from a Book of Hours illuminated by the Master of the Hours of Jean des Bruyères and Jeanne de Recourt (Master Regnault or Oudot Matuchet?) France, Dijon, 1530s

Sacred Bleeding Host of Dijon, historiated initial from a choir book (Gradual), illuminated by the Master of the Hours of Jean des Bruyères and Jeanne de Recourt (Master Regnault or Oudot Matuchet?) France, Dijon, ca. 1536-37

(L) Virgin and Child, leaf from "The Pichon Hours," in Latin, illuminated by the Doheny Master (of the Noël Bellemare Group), France, Paris, 1530-35. (R) Distribution of Blessed Candles, leaf from the "Missal of Guy de Baudreuil," in Latin, illuminated by Jean Pichore and his workshop, France, Paris, ca. 1520

Burial of St. Stephen, miniature from a choir book (Gradual), illuminated by Etienne Colaud (act. 1512-41), France, Paris, 1530s

Corpus Christi Procession, miniature from a choir book (Gradual), illuminated by Etienne Colaud (active 1512- 41), France, Paris, 1530s

(L) Parliament of Heaven, single leaf from a Book of Hours, illuminated by the Master of Jacques de Luxembourg, France, northeast of Paris, ca. 1465. (R) St. Bernard of Clairvaux Receiving Milk from the Virgin; King David Harping; and Two Birds Fighting; single leaf from a Book of Hours illuminated by the Master of Catherine of Cleves (act. 1430-60), The Netherlands, Utrecht, ca. 1460

The Virgin Mary Weaving "Hours of Anne de Neufville," in Latin and French, illuminated by the Bedford Master (Haincelin Hagenau?) France, Paris, ca. 1430

(L) Gospel Book, in Armenian, copied by Georg, son of Mik'ayel the scribe, Turkey, Tokat, 1700. (R) Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894), The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, autograph manuscript, [September-October 1885]

Girolamo Savonarola (1452-1498), Letter to Alberto Savonarola, Florence, October 28, 1495