In researching old Hebrew texts, I came across a facsimile copy of the Leningrad Codex,
named for the city library where it had been housed. I read the inroduction, which mentioned these beautiful carpet pages,
so named because they looked like Persian carpets. These pages were scribes artwork. I fell in love with ancient Hebrew scribal artwork.
I have sought books out in the library and scoured the net for examples of this beautiful art form. My preference is the older form,
which was more design work, rather than the latter middle ages form of painting pictures depicting animals and people
or a combination thereof. Some of the scribal art included verses or passages in Hebrew, that helped form the design.

This art form goes by several names: scribal art, carpet pages, micrography, Hebrew illumination and illuminated manuscripts.
Hebrew scribal artwork seems to have originated in Mesopotamia and spread to Syria, Palestine, Arabia and Egypt. THe The Persian,
Syrian, Palestinian, Arabian and Egyptian forms did allow forms of people and animals, but used beautiful geometric and floral patterns.
Many of these are of Qaraiym design, rather than Rabbinic.

This form of scribal artwork was not limited to just the scriptures, but came to be used in the kethuboth, marriage contracts of the Hebrews.

 

 

 

amarmosesmaim.gif	barcelonahaggadah.jpg	bereshiyth2.jpg	carpet.jpg	cerverabiblemenorah.jpg
circlesquare.jpg	damascusqeter.jpg	egypt1010.jpg	farhibible.gif	karkethegypt1891.jpg
kennicott.JPG	kennicottmedallion.jpg	kennicottmedblk.jpg	kethafgh1867.jpg	lencodexarch.jpg
lencodexstar.jpg	lisbonbible.jpg	lisbonbible2.jpg	lisbonbible3.gif	menorah.jpg
menorahbig.jpg	mizmor15th.jpg	moreh.jpg	sefermitsvotgadol.jpg	siddurlis15th.jpg
soncinoberlin1924.jpg	thorahcarpetpage.jpg	yemen.jpg	yemenlarge.jpg	yemensaana1475.jpg