Initial A: The Three Marys at the Tomb, leaf from an antiphonal
A leaf from a choir antiphonal, painted by Pellegrino di Mariano Rossini in Italy in 1471 for liturgical use in a church choir. The page pairs square musical notation on red-ruled staves with a historiated initial showing three women at a tomb, framed by dense vine-scroll borders, gold leaf, and small medallions of animals and figures. A designer could take from it the interplay of gilded ornament, saturated jewel-toned panels, and compact ornamental borders that surround a text block.
