MOBIA is proud to present a selection of folios from the Prophets books of The Saint John’s Bible, a contemporary illuminated Bible produced using age-old scribal and illumination techniques. The Saint John’s Bible was commissioned by Saint John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota and is being produced in Wales under the direction of Donald Jackson. To help viewers understand the tradition of bible-making that inspired the Saint John’s project, the exhibition will also feature embellished books and individual leaves from the collections of the American Bible Society and the Jewish Theological Seminary.

More than 50 embellished books and individual leaves will be on view, tracing more than 1000 years of sacred scripture production. Examples of lavish medieval bibles embellished with gold and precious pigments will introduce visitors to the tradition of book illumination in Europe. The continued production of luxurious copies of this sacred text even after the mass-production made possible by the printing press will be exemplified by a selection of important printed Renaissance, Baroque and modern bibles.

Thanks to the generous cooperation of Faksimile Verlag, MOBIA is proud to present more than a dozen remarkable facsimile editions of the world’s greatest manuscript treasures on view in our education center. The Saint John’s Bible was inspired in part by the most beautiful examples of medieval book illumination.  Medieval manuscripts are often the property of libraries and museums, and can be seen only rarely by a limited public due to their fragility and rarity. Faksimile Verlag Luzern, Fine Art Facsimile publishers of Switzerland, founded in 1974, seeks to make these medieval manuscripts accessible to a wide audience of bibliophiles, collectors and academics.  Using the most up-to-date technology combined with traditional craftsmanship, Faksimile Verlag produces high quality facsimiles of some of the most celebrated manuscripts made in Western Europe, including the Book of Kells and the Lindisfarne Gospels.  These books resemble the originals down to the smallest details, from the binding to the condition of their pages to the patina of the centuries-old gold used to embellish them. Unlike the originals, these facsimiles can be carefully handled, so visitors can experience turning their glorious pages http://www.faksimile.ch/

Major support for Gilded Legacies: The Saint John’s Bible in Context is provided by the American Bible Society. Educational programs are made possible by the JPMorgan Chase Foundation.