Devotional Pastedown

Beinecke MS 498

This engraving was made into a pastedown in the inside front cover of a 16th century prayerbook.  The manuscript was one of many donated to the library by Thomas Marston, but not found in the collection named for him.  Marston gave a remarkable number of manuscripts and printed books including many Islamic and Ethiopic materials.  The image also captures the wealth of provenance material found in original bindings.  It seems likely that the printed pastedown has a devotional function, given its placement in a prayerbook.  Written and illuminated in France, by Pierre Aymes.