23 October 2007 to 6 January 2008
Offering a rare and intimate glimpse of the treasures in a personal collection, a new exhibition opening today at the Fitzwilliam Museum celebrates the unique beauty of illuminated manuscripts across chronological, geographic and cultural boundaries.
Private Pleasures: Illuminated Manuscripts from Persia to Paris reveals the personal manuscript collection of Denys Spittle (1920-2003), who was born in Cambridge, came to read Architecture at Pembroke College in 1939 and subsequently become a life member of the Friends of the Fitzwilliam Museum. The twenty-five exhibits represent literary and artistic traditions which flourished from the tenth to the twentieth century, and are here on public display for the first time. The exhibition features masterpieces as diverse as Nizami’s Persian Khamza, a Byzantine Gospelbook, a Parisian history of the French kings, a Bruges Book of Hours, the popular English Brut Chronicle, an Ottoman Qu’ran and a Venetian copy of Cicero.
Dr Stella Panayotova, Keeper of Manuscripts and Printed Books at the Fitzwilliam Museum and the curator of Private Pleasures, said "This exhibition celebrates the passion for medieval manuscripts, the pleasure of collecting them and the excitement of sharing them with others. We are delighted to have the opportunity to display this selection of treasures from so personal a collection."
Private Pleasures: Illuminated Manuscripts from Persia to Paris is accompanied by a lavishly illustrated catalogue, available in the Fitzwilliam Museum’s Courtyard Shop for £14.95.
Meet the Goths - a workshop for adults on 23 November - offers the opportunity to visit the exhibition with calligrapher Penny Price, study a Gothic script and try your hand at calligraphy. For further details and booking contact the Fitzwilliam Museum Education Department on 01223 332904 or email fitzmuseum-education@lists.cam.ac.uk.
Private Pleasures
Illuminated Manuscripts from Persia to Paris
23 October 2007 - 6 January 2008
Octagon Gallery (Gallery 10)
The Fitzwilliam Museum, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1RB
OPEN: Tuesday - Saturday: 10.00 - 17.00
Sunday: 12.00 - 17.00
CLOSED: Mondays, 24-26 & 31 December and 1 January
ADMISSION FREE |
