Initial B: Christ Enthroned and David Playing the Harp, cutting from a psalter or a choir book
A cutting from a Italian illuminated psalter or choir book, made around 1401 by Cristoforo Cortese and held by the J. Paul Getty Museum, probably for liturgical use in a church or monastery. The picture shows Christ enthroned in blue robes above a seated David holding a harp-like instrument, framed by gold leaf and curling acanthus scrolls; a designer could take its gilded ground, flat blue and vermilion palette, and dense decorative border as models for ornamental framing.
