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This customized 1641 Book of Psalms is a marvel not only for its diminutive size, but also for its remarkable condition and lavish decoration.
Source: Library of Congress
This is a guest post by Sahar Kazmi, a public affairs specialist in the Office of the Chief Information Officer. It also appears in the May-June issue of the Library of Congress Magazine.
Images: Courtesy
If you were a well-born English lady from a prosperous 17th-century family, you might be just as likely to accessorize your satin gown with earrings or a fan as you would an elaborately embroidered prayer book.
Equal parts devotional item and chic accessory, small, ornate prayer books — like the 3-inch-tall Book of Psalms held in the Library’s Lessing J. Rosenwald collection in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division — were a common way to showcase both great wealth and piety in this era of European society. An aristocratic lady might have carried the book with her to church or, like a piece of prized jewelry, brought it out for special occasions.
This customized 1641 Book of Psalms is a marvel not only for its diminutive size, but also for its remarkable condition and lavish decoration. At more than 380 years old, its golden threads remain unfrayed, and its intricate swirls of tiny seed pearls — hundreds of them — appear almost perfectly intact.
There’s a colorful coat of arms on both front and back, featuring a floral wreath and the figure of a man above it, brandishing a leaf or tree branch. This coat of arms likely belonged to the family who commissioned the embroidery from a professional needleworker.
There also are little birds in each corner, eyes wide and gold beaks open as if they’re singing. Embroidered in an ombré style, their threaded feathers blend and transform from orange to yellow, blue to green.
The biblical Book of Psalms itself is an ideal choice for a prayer book accessory. A collection of hymns and other songs of praise, Psalms’ poetic structure is perfect for private worship and reflection.
Written in the metered rhyming style favored in England at the time, it would have made for easy reading. Thumb over to the index in the back and find a short prayer for just about any mood or divine theme: wisdom, mercy, hope, trouble. Who said religious devotion couldn’t be convenient and stylish?
