Lisbon Hebrew Bible Frontispiece to the Book of Isaiah. Gold carpet page with illuminated word panel on blue background. This Bible was completed in three volumes in 1482. Lisbon was one of the last great schools of Jewish art on the Iberian peninsula.

Silos Apocalypse Shows the seven-headed dragon attacked with spears by St Michael and his angels. Late 11th -- early 12th Century. Produced at Silos when part of Spain was under Moorish rule. A wonderfully dramatic example of Christian book illustration from Spain.

Sultan Baybars' Quran One of the finest of all Quran manuscripts, written in gold in seven folio volumes. It took three years to produce (1304--06) in Cairo for the Mameluke Sultan Baybars II

photos courtesy of the British Library

parent page (19 - 25 July 2007, issue #854)