Historiated letter E illustrating the sending of the apostles | State Library of New South Wales

Historiated letter E illustrating Christ blessing the four saints

Historiated letter ‘E’ illustrating the sending of the apostles, 1328
From the Antiphonal: Common of the Saints; Bound manuscript on vellum illuminated by Neri da Rimini
Richardson 273, folio 3r

The Rimini Antiphonal is one of the State Library's greatest musical treasures. This large choirbook of chants for the Common of the Saints features 21 decorated letters and eight illustrated ('historiated') letters, brilliantly coloured and decorated with gold leaf. The artist has been identified as the renowned fourteenth-century Italian miniaturist, Neri da Rimini, who made an important contribution to the development of Italian art. Dated 1328, the Rimini Antiphonal is the latest of Neri's extant works. It was bequeathed to the Library in 1928 by Nelson Moore Richardson.

Display period: April 2007 – March 2008