The Naples Dioscorides
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.During the seventh century, Byzantine scholars continued to study and advance the scientific and medical knowledge established earlier by Greeks and Romans. Alexandria, in Egypt, remained a major intellectual center. Paul of Aegina, who resided there, would write a medical compendium that was widely used by later Byzantine and Muslim scholars.
The lavishly illustrated manuscript written in Greek is a Byzantine copy of the work of the first-century scholar Dioscorides describing the medical properties of 827 ingredients from the natural world. An important source of scientific learning, the text was used by Byzantine and later Muslim and Western scholars for centuries. The opening seen here illustrates Lesser Burdock and Wild Vine or Wild Grape.
The lavishly illustrated manuscript written in Greek is a Byzantine copy of the work of the first-century scholar Dioscorides describing the medical properties of 827 ingredients from the natural world. An important source of scientific learning, the text was used by Byzantine and later Muslim and Western scholars for centuries. The opening seen here illustrates Lesser Burdock and Wild Vine or Wild Grape.
Artwork Details
- Title: The Naples Dioscorides
- Date: end of the 6th or beginning of the 7th century
- Geography: Made in Italy
- Medium: Ink and pigment on parchment, 172 folios
- Dimensions: Approx. 11 11/16 x 10 1/16 in. (29.7 x 25.5 cm); exact measurements vary by folio
- Classification: Manuscripts
- Credit Line: Biblioteca Nazionale “Vittorio Emanuele III,” Naples (Ms.Ex-Vind.Gr.1)
- Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters