Decorated Initial from an antiphonal
An illuminated initial from a liturgical choir book of about 1260, probably made in northern France or England for a monastic or cathedral choir, now held by the J. Paul Getty Museum. The picture is a large blue letter filled with gold-edged scrolling vine stems, trefoil leaves, and red and blue dots, with red and grey hybrid creatures biting at the frame corners. A designer could take its dense, rhythmic interlace and the limited palette of blue, vermilion, and grey-white for pattern or border work.
