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Leaf from a Pocket Bible: II Paralipomenon (Second Chronicles), chapters 29-32
Leaf from a Pocket Bible: II Paralipomenon (Second Chronicles), chapters 29-32

Leaf from a Pocket Bible: II Paralipomenon (Second Chronicles), chapters 29-32

Artist Unknown scribe
Datecirca 1250
MediumManuscript on parchment
Dimensionsoverall: 7 3/4 × 5 1/4in. (19.7 × 13.3cm)
other (of text): 7 1/4 × 3 1/4in. (18.4 × 8.3cm)
ClassificationsBook Arts
Credit LineGift of Dr. and Mrs. Abram Kanof
Object numberG.76.12.3
On View
Not on view
Label TextPocket bibles were an invention of the commercial book trade in thirteenth-century Paris. Writing on ultrathin parchment in tiny script, Parisian scribes transformed medieval bible manuscripts from multiple heavy volumes to lightweight portable books.

The precision and beauty of their lettering—here ten lines of text to an inch—are among the wonders in book history. Equally innovative was the scribes’ standardization of the order and names of the biblical books and arrangement of elements on a page, with chapter headings at the top and small red and blue initials to mark divisions within the text. The success of the design is such that today many printed bibles still look virtually the same are often depicted wearing caps with bells or asses’ ears.
[L. Humphrey, “The People’s Collection, Reimagined,” 2022]
ProvenanceCollection of Otto F. Ege, Cleveland, OhioExhibition HistoryRaleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," October 7, 2022–April 24, 2023 (recto).

Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," November 18, 2025-May 19, 2026 (verso). Object Rights Statement

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