Skies of parchment, seas of ink
Subtitle: Jewish illuminated manuscripts
By: edited by Marc Michael Epstein ; with contributions by Eva Frojmovic [and eight others]
Published: 2015
Language: eng
Number of pages: 276
ISBN-13: 9780691165240
Subjects: Jewish illumination of books and manuscripts
Description: " The love of books in the Jewish tradition extends back over many centuries, and the ways of interpreting those books are as myriad as the traditions themselves. [This] offers the first full survey of Jewish illuminated manuscripts, ranging from their origins in the Middle Ages to the present day. Featuring some of the most beautiful examples of Jewish art of all time - including hand-illustrated versions of the Bible, the Haggadah, the prayer book, marriage documents, and other beloved Jewish texts - the book introduces readers to the history of these manuscripts and their interpretation. Edited by Marc Michael Epstein with contributions from leading experts, this ... features a lively and informative text, showing how Jewish aesthetic tastes and iconography overlapped with and diverged from those of Christianity, Islam, and other traditions. Featured manuscripts were commissioned by Jews and produced by Jews and non-Jews over many centuries, and represent Eastern and Western perspectives and the views of both pietistic and liberal communities across the Diaspora, including Europe, Israel, the Middle East, and Africa. Magnificently illustrated with pages from hundreds of manuscripts, many previously unpublished or rarely seen, Skies of Parchment, Seas of Ink offers surprising new perspectives on Jewish life, presenting the books of the People of the Book as never before"--Publisher's description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction: for the love of books / Marc Michael Epstein; title: The people of the book/books of the people: illuminating the canon / Hartley Lachter and Marc Michael Epstein; title: Parchments and palimpsests: scribe, illuminator, patron, audience / Marc Michael Epstein; title: The illuminated page: materials, methods, and techniques / Barbara Wolff; title: Mapping the territory: ʼArbʻah kanfot maʼareẓ, the four corners of the medieval Jewish world. Ereẓ Yisrael/The land of Israel: homeland and center / Marc Michael Epstein ; Italia/Italy: the first western diaspora / Marc Michael Epstein ; Ashkenaz: Franco-Germany, England, Central, and East Europe / Eva Frojmovic with Marc Michael Epstein ; Sepharad and ʻArav: Spain and the Middle East / Raymond P. Scheindlin with Marc Michael Epstein ; The problem of national style / Eva Frojmovic with Marc Michael Epstein; title: Iconography: telling the story / Marc Michael Epstein; title: Dialogue and disputation: cultural negotiation / Marc Michael Epstein; title: This world centered on the home: women, marriage, and the family / Shalom Sahar; title: Glimpses of Jewish life: reality or illusion? / Marc Michael Epstein; title: Incidental details: margins and meaning / Marc Michael Epstein; title: Sacred and profane: naked ladies in the Haggadah? / Ágnes Vető; title: Other worlds: fantastic horizons and unseen universes / Hartley Lachter wtih Marc Michael Epstein; title: Zion and Jerusalem: the sum of all beauty, the joy of all the earth / Shalom Sahar; title: In the royal court: Jewish illumination in an age of printing / Marc Michael Epstein; title: A Yiddish Minhagim manuscript / Diane Wolfthal; title: Illuminating the present: contemporary Jewish illumination / Susan Vick with Marc Michael Epstein; title: Continuing the journey: annotated bibliography and manuscript descriptions / Jenna Siman Jacobs with Marc Michael Epstein.