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About This Collection
This collection features the Crusader Bible (MS M.638), also known as the Morgan Picture Bible, an illuminated manuscript created circa 1244-1254 in Paris, France. The manuscript contains Old Testament miniatures with Latin, Persian, and Judeo-Persian inscriptions and was purchased by J.P. Morgan in 1916.
Medieval Pigments & Colors:
The vivid colors you see were extraordinarily expensive and rare in the 13th century.
Ultramarine blue came from lapis lazuli mined only in Afghanistan—worth more than gold by weight.
Vermilion red was made from toxic mercury sulfide. Gold leaf was applied in sheets
and burnished to a brilliant shine. Tyrian purple required thousands of sea snails for a single gram.
Plant-based greens and yellows, mineral azurite, and precious metals made each page a fortune in materials alone.
Creating such a manuscript was an act of immense devotion and wealth.
All content is sourced from:
The Morgan Library & Museum - Crusader Bible Collection
This material is in the public domain and is made available for educational and research purposes.
