Unicorn and Ram, from the Meshal ha-Kadmoni (Fable of the Ancients)
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.Penned in 1281 by a Jewish scholar living in Spain, the Meshal ha-Kadmoni presents opinions on various subjects, as voiced by animals. Two centuries later, it became the first printed book in Hebrew to be illustrated. Here, an ofer and an aku, depicted as a unicorn and a ram, discuss the wickedness of hunters.
Artwork Details
- Title: Unicorn and Ram, from the Meshal ha-Kadmoni (Fable of the Ancients)
- Author: Isaac ben Solomon abi Sahula (Spanish, born Castile, 1244)
- Date: Printed 1491
- Culture: Italian (Brescia)
- Medium: Printed book: Ink on paper (woodcut)
- Dimensions: 7 9/16 × 5 15/16 × 3/4 in. (19.2 × 15.1 × 1.9 cm)
Folios: 7 3/8 × 5 9/16 in. (18.7 × 14.1 cm)
Opening: 7 9/16 × 12 13/16 in. (19.2 × 32.5 cm)
Storage (Book box): 8 1/4 × 6 1/2 × 1 5/16 in. (21 × 16.5 × 3.3 cm) - Classification: Miscellaneous
- Credit Line: Courtesy of The Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary, New York
- Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters