John de Tickhill (fl. early 14th century)
Tickhill Psalter
Illuminated manuscript, ca. 1310
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, Spencer Collection
Tickhill Psalter
Named after John de Tickhill, the prior of the Augustinian Canon Priory of Worksop in Nottinghamshire, England, the Tickhill Psalter is among the most lavishly illuminated of all 14th-century English manuscripts. Tickhill was elected prior in 1303 but discharged from his position in 1314 as a result of fiscal misconduct, a wrongdoing to which the steep costs of the manuscript likely contributed. A work of gargantuan ambition, the manuscript features pictorial and textual decorations that include large historiated initials and scenes at the bottom of the page forming a continuous narrative, commencing with the Old Testament. This astonishingly opulent, full-page opening illustration of the Tree of Jesse notwithstanding, the Psalter has numerous unfinished sheets that offer an unrivaled opportunity to study the genesis of the medieval illuminated manuscript.
: The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, Spencer …
Currently on View at Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
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