Sunday, October 18, 2009

The Tudor Pattern Book

Pimpernel. Blue flower. Stylised design.

Pimpernel. Blue flower. Stylised design.



Stylised floral design. Iris, violet.

Stylised floral design. Iris, violet.



Stylised floral design. Stylised red poppies.

Stylised floral design. Stylised red poppies.



Stylised floral design. Purple flowers. Parrot.

Stylised floral design. Purple flowers. Parrot.



Stylised floral design. Buttercup, periwinkle.

Stylised floral design. Buttercup, periwinkle.



Design based on botanical shapes, flowers, pineapple.

Design based on botanical shapes, flowers, pineapple.



Design based on botanical shapes, flowers, pineapple. Three stylized trefoils. Flower-box.

Design based on botanical shapes, flowers, pineapple.
Three stylized trefoils. Flower-box.



Oak and Pine. Ape with pipe, drum. Smaller ape on donkey. Naked bearded man on donkey holding club. Blue-caped fox plays bagpipes.

Oak and Pine. Ape with pipe, drum. Smaller ape on donkey.
Naked bearded man on donkey holding club. Blue-caped fox plays bagpipes.



Peach and Prune. Two birds perched on a pimpernel.

Peach and Prune. Two birds perched on a pimpernel.



Cumfrey and Daisy, Cauldrons, powter plate, yellow dish.

Cumfrey and Daisy, Cauldrons, powter plate, yellow dish.



Ash and Almond, large wooden 2-masted ship with anchor on sea by rocks.

Ash and Almond, large wooden 2-masted ship with anchor on sea by rocks.



Henbane and Hart's Tongue. Table, laid, Animal on pewter dish. Benches.

Henbane and Hart's Tongue. Table, laid, Animal on pewter dish. Benches.



Blackberry and Birch. Two sprays of birdseys

Blackberry and Birch. Two sprays of birdseyes.



Lynx and Lizard. 2 ornaments with stylized fish heads.

Lynx and Lizard. 2 ornaments with stylized fish heads.



Cockatrice and Crocodile. Dragon with human head in mouth. Crayfish.

Cockatrice and Crocodile. Dragon with human head in mouth. Crayfish.



Reindeer and Panther. Striped animal with curly hair.

Reindeer and Panther. Striped animal with curly hair.



Peacock and Ostrich with its egg above it. Duck.

Peacock and Ostrich with its egg above it. Duck.



Unicorns. Fox. Bird

Unicorns. Fox. Bird.



Griffon and Greyhound. Two fierce-looking birds.

Griffon and Greyhound. Two fierce-looking birds.



Bear and Bloodhound, Goat, green insect, apes

Bear and Bloodhound, Goat, green insect, apes.



A scroll alphabet. a

A scroll alphabet



A scroll alphabet. c

A scroll alphabet



A scroll alphabet. e

A scroll alphabet



Alphabet based on human forms.

Alphabet based on human forms.


[click through to larger versions; all captions are quoted]

"In Medieval times, book illustrators aimed to produce very rich illustrations to decorate their books. For inspiration they kept pattern or model books. These books contained jottings of anything that caught the illustrator's eye: figures, animals, monsters, decorative capital letters, borders, motifs. But these weren't drawn firsthand - they were all borrowed from earlier books, paintings or glass windows. [..]

Pattern books were practical tools and also helped to circulate artistic traditions and ideas around the manuscript making community. Because they were working documents, passing between many different people, few medieval pattern books have survived."


The present work, Bodleian MS. Ashmole 1504 ('The Tudor Pattern Book'), is unique in the sense that it is part-bestiary, part-herbal and an important visual record of early cultivated plants. It was produced in East Anglia in about 1520 and its twin (known as the 'Helmingham Herbal and Bestiary' and perhaps a little older than the Ashmole variant) is now part of the Yale Center for British Art collection in Virginia Newhaven, Connecticut.


10 comments :

Sam said...

Thank you for posting this - these are amazing!

Kittybriton said...

These represent a fascinating glimpse into the lives of the artists at the dawn of the renaissance period. Wonderful post!

David Apatoff said...

What splendid designs! Strong and bold and clean-- no equivocation here.

DianeZ said...

Beautiful! A small correction - the Yale Center for British Art is in New Haven, CT

peacay said...

Oh thanks - that location must have come from one of the secondary sources: I often write down the state for my own memory actually. I'll fix it.

Anonymous said...

More at modelbooks & sketchbooks http://larsdatter.com/modelbooks.htm also!

M.W. Nolden said...

LOL…
"Henbane and Hart's Tongue. Table, laid, Animal on pewter dish. Benches."
As always, these are delightful!

Trinkets of diversions, inventions and obsessions. said...

Hi there!

Where is the bloodhound image for. We are thinking of using that image for our exhibition and we need the copyright. Where would I be able to find your contact details. So that I can tell you more about the exhibition.

Thanks,

Ange

peacay said...

Hi Trinkets..
The link up above - after the images - embedded in the large text will take you to the Oxford Uni website where the manuscript is hosted. I won't comment on copyright (UK is different to USA) other than to suggest you write to Oxford Uni, tell them what you want to do and ask their opinion/input etc. I really have no other advice on that point. And top right of this blog site you'll see an about page in which you'll find my email address if you need it.

Stabbed! said...

Thanks for all the links to other model books. I had purchased a childrens colouring book from the Bod's book shop sale table several years ago for 30P. It has sat on a bookshelf until I perused it just now and noticed this little "bargain" book referenced the line drawings were copied from MS.Ashmole 1504. I'm passionate about illuminated books, especially 15th-16th-c art. I've also been collecting model book facsimiles whenever I can find them. Mille gracie!

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