Description
Christine de Pizan and her ‘Epistre Othea’
Vivid colours, rich gold ornament and delicate silver mark the 98 illustrations of this manuscript, thus lending the worldly wisdom of Christine de Pizan the atmosphere it deserves. Mostly more than half-page miniatures illustrate the book, which was made at a time when panel painting and illumination directly competed for the first time.
The manuscript now in the Royal Library at the Hague is the first work of the famous author ever to be published in a facsimile edition. The manuscript consists of 96 leaves (192 pages) in format 13.5×20 cm with 98 miniatures, and is thus one of the most copiously illustrated texts by Christine de Pizan.
The manuscript at the Hague now has a modern binding. All we know about the original binding is that it was made of blue silk. The facsimile edition is thus bound in blue raw silk.
