07.01.22

As I've been thinking towards making my fabric etching pages I started looking at books in the realm of themes I've already been looking at, in particular illuminated manuscripts. When doing my research I struggled finding things that appealed to me until I found the 'Black Book of Hours' (1475-1480). The contrast in the book really appealed to me and surprised me for an item of the time as it came across very modern and contemporary. I want to take inspiration from this electric blue, black and gold combination and use it in my work maybe in relation to my print book. 

'Black Book of Hours' 1475-1480

Black Book of Hours

Black books of hours are a type of luxury Flemish illuminated manuscript books of hours using pages of vellum that were soaked with black dye or ink before they were lettered or illustrated, for an unusual and dramatic effect. The text is usually written with gold or silver ink. There are seven surviving examples, all dating from about 1455–1480. The parchment was soaked in an iron-copper solution and as a result could only be inscribed with gold or silver lettering. The process was both expensive and corrosive to parchment, so surviving examples are few and generally in poor condition. These manuscripts were produced in the mid- to late-15th century for high-ranking members of the court of Philip the Good and Charles the Bold. Given their novel visual appeal, they were probably prized more highly than more conventional illuminated books.