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This series is based on
illustrations from the Aberdeen Bestiary - a 12th century
manuscript describing current beliefs about Natural
History.
The illustrations of animals
are often cheekily burlesque (note the cat licking itself, and
the prominent genitalia on the pigs, lion and goat) and the descriptions of
the animals often unbelievably fanciful (e.g. the panther is
described as having such sweet breath that all the other
animals of the forest are compelled to follow it) and there
are often serious descriptions of mythical animals like
unicorns, manticores and griffons.
The stated purpose of the
Aberdeen Bestiary was "to improve the minds of ordinary people, in such a way that the soul will at least perceive physically things which it has difficulty grasping mentally: that what they have difficulty comprehending with their ears, they will perceive with their eyes" (Aberdeen MS 24, f25v).
It was common in medieval times
for enamellists to try and reproduce illustrations in their
own medium. We sometimes forget that originality in art work
was not a value until quite recently in the history of human
endeavour.
I am quite interested by the
stylisation in these drawings, which reduces the form of the
animal to a few simple lines, and yet captures the movement
and form of them very well.
These panels are modelled after
Byzantine enamels that were a combination of champlevé and cloisonné.
A thin piece of gold would have been beaten out to provide the
recesses, and the cloisonné wires sunk in the recesses.
I have simply used my regular etching method to create the
recesses. I have tried to approximate the colours on the
manuscript pages, which were paints made from crushed gems.
The Blue/Red/yellow theme was carried out in most of the
illustrations. You can see the original manuscript
here
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click
on picture for larger image
see the original
illustration
here
3"X3" panel - 6" X 6" framed
see the original
illustration
here
3"X3"
panel - 6" X 6" framed
see the original
illustration
here
3"X3"
panel - 6" X 6" framed
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