Seite - 54 - in The Vienna Genesis - Material analysis and conservation of a Late Antique illuminated manuscript on purple parchment
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54 The parchment of the Vienna Genesis: characteristics and manufacture
and reminds one of spots with a cloudy appearance, as described in the literature36. With
an experienced eye this pattern can be identified as sheepskin, yet the chance that it could
be confused with goatskin is high. As a result, identification of the animal based solely on
this feature is problematic. Remains of the hair follicle pattern highlighted by the purple
dye can be found on the margins of several folios of the Vienna Genesis, for example on
folio 1, folio 11 and folio 15 (Fig. 15). Alois Liška, the bookbinder who treated the Vienna
Genesis in the 1920s, assumed that the parchment was made from calf. Both Gerstinger
and Mazal refer to his statement in the commentaries to their facsimile editions37. It is clear
that the follicle pattern is indicative of sheep skin. In combination with the experience
from recreating Late Antique parchment, the animal is identified as sheep for all folios of
the Vienna Genesis.
36 Federici, 1996, pp. 146–153.
37 Gerstinger, 1931, p. 185; Mazal 1980, p. 11. Fig. 15: Traces of the hair follicle pat-
tern preserved in the area of
the flank of the sheep on the
margin of folio 11, page 22.
Open-Access-Publikation im Sinne der CC-Lizenz BY 4.0
The Vienna Genesis
Material analysis and conservation of a Late Antique illuminated manuscript on purple parchment
- Titel
- The Vienna Genesis
- Untertitel
- Material analysis and conservation of a Late Antique illuminated manuscript on purple parchment
- Herausgeber
- Christa Hofmann
- Verlag
- Böhlau Verlag
- Ort
- Wien
- Datum
- 2020
- Sprache
- englisch
- Lizenz
- CC BY 4.0
- ISBN
- 978-3-205-21058-0
- Abmessungen
- 17.3 x 24.5 cm
- Seiten
- 348