Psalms, Job, and Proverbs
Handwritten on parchment; dark brown ink, tempera, gold leaf; semi-cursive Italian script
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Rheims, Paris
Accession number:
B67.0276
180/055
Jewish Art and Life
This tiny codex is one of 25 manuscripts ascribed to or signed by Isaac ben Obadiah. Each of its three biblical books opens with a full-page illustration: David and Goliath; Job with his three friends; and the Judgment of Solomon. The first page of Psalms contains the coat of arms of the Medici ruler of Florence, Lorenzo the Magnificent, a great Renaissance patron of the arts - evidence that during this time Hebrew manuscripts were commissioned by Christian humanists as well as by Jews.
