Psalter from the Metropolitan Museum

This manuscript is one of approximately fifty aristocratic Byzantine psalters that have survived from the Middle Byzantine era. Created in the late 1100s, it reflects the exceptional quality of book production from that period. Psalters were highly valued in the medieval Christian world, serving both as prayer books for liturgy in churches and monasteries and as foundational texts for learning to read.

The text is elegantly inscribed in gold letters on parchment, with vivid, icon-like illuminations set against gilded backgrounds at selected readings. Among the most striking illustrations is the image of Christ Pantokrator, positioned at the center of an elaborate headpiece above the introductory text. The illuminator, whose identity remains unknown, painted Christ’s face in the finest Byzantine tradition, layering flesh tones and facial details over a green base to create depth and shadow. The pairs of birds above the headpiece and within the ornate incipit letter extend the Christian symbolism, evoking the dual nature of Christ as both human and divine.