Mira Calligraphiae Monumenta
MS. 20, Folio 9
Why am I doing this?
I made this project because it was done as a last minute request. I had a little time on my hands, and I decided to do it. At the time, I had just stumbled on the Mira Hours and it intrigued me enough to attempt something from it. The rest is history.
This was a Silver Rapier award for the East Kingdom, given May 27, 2023.
Scroll Wording - Author Unknown
If you wrote these words, please contact me so I can credit you!
Mark the words of Brennan and Caoilfhionn, Kingdom of the East, beloved Adri and Ardrigann recognize bravery with a Silver Rapier we ensue from the frozen reaches of Concordia of the Snows her kills with a blade continue to grow Ulfrun Isolfroddir may your sword cut true May 27, War of the Roses, A.S. 58.
The Extant: MS 20, Folio 9 "Spider, Love-in-a-Mist, Potter Wasp, and Red Currant"
Title: Spider, Love-in-a-Mist, Potter Wasp, and Red Currant
Artist/Maker: Joris Hoefnagel (Flemish, / Hungarian, 1542 - 1600)
and Georg Bocskay (Hungarian, died 1575)
Date: 1561–1562; illumination added 1591–1596
Medium: Watercolors, gold and silver paint, and ink
Dimensions: Leaf: 16.6 × 12.4 cm (6 9/16 × 4 7/8 in.)
Place: Vienna, Austria (Place Created)
Culture: Flemish and Hungarian
Object Number: Ms. 20 (86.MV.527), fol. 9
Department: Manuscripts
Classification: Illustrated Manuscript
Object Type: Folio
Alternate Numbers: 86.MV.527.9 (Object Number), Ms. 20, fol. 9 (Manuscript Number)
Folio information presented, as listed at the Getty Museum, October 31, 2023.
As seen at the Getty Museum, click here for a link to the museum page.
Materials used:
Paper
I used acrylic 246 lbs, 9 inch x 12 inch by Artist's Loft
Winsor & Newton Cotman water colour
FineTec Pearlescent colours
Pencil and eraser
Faber-Castell waterproof India ink pen
In progress shot
This was the only progress shot I could find of this scroll. I think I completed this entire scroll of a time span of less than 4 hours from beginning to end.
I did a light pencil sketch to use a foundation for my water color. I then applied my water colors in several layers as glazes. I worked with only primary colors.
Final Version
I sharpened up the lines with my Faber-Castell pens.
Comparing my Scroll to the Extant
I'm trying a new joining style to do side-by-side images of the extant and my work for contrast.
Departures from Period Practice
I used gold paint for my lettering, extant used black ink, likely oak gall
This was a creative decision to achieve the results that I wanted for this project
I did the base illustrations before applying the text
The extant had calligraphy applied almost 3 decades before the illumination was applied. I added the illumination before the calligraphy because the illumination looked like a fun and engaging doodling project at the time.
This was the first scroll of the Mira Manual that I created, and I made this before I decided to make the Mira manual an actual project where I would try to replicate all of the pages.
The calligraphy used in this scroll is from page 128 of The Calligrapher's Bible: 100 Complete Alphabets and How to Draw Them (ISBN: 978-0-7641-5615-1)
A way for me to make this more accurate would be to derive my own interpretation of this hand from the extant. The hand I used was visually similar to the extant, and I was in a bit of a hurry to meet this deadline. I'll create a new hand for a future project.
My flourishes in the calligraphy are relatively reserved when compared to the extant.
This was an artistic decision. The extra flourishes didn't have the desired effect I was going for with this project.
My scroll is painted in water color paints made by Winsor & Newton mixed with a proteinaceous binder. I used egg whites.
Extant paints would be made out of a combination of mineral pigments and binders. More detailed explanation on period paint compositions can be read here. The TL;DR version is as follows:
Blue paints are likely ground azurite and copper oxide
Clear/white paint is made out of glair and calcium carbonate. Other variations can use zinc or lead white
Green paint is a combination of copper and copper-chlorine resinate
Red/brown paint can be made out of a combination of hematite, iron sulfide, lead sulfide and palmierite (lead-potassium-sulfur) compound
Black ink is iron gall ink, and was typically used for both calligraphy and sketching
Things I Learned Along the Way
Develop a better plan for creating content, specifically take more photographs and just upload them. Don't waste time trying to write content for it, just upload the progress shots so I can have something to reference when I'm writing information.
Attempting to write documentation after-the-fact is really hard, I made this scroll back in May and it's now October and I can't find any information on it
I tried to paint this scroll using a particular process of applying paint as glazes. This produced an interesting effect. If I recreate this scroll, I'm going to add the paint differently to produce a more realistic look, whih seems closer to the extant.