This site is in danger of going away; please consider the Donate link above...
Images and some text extracts from L’Ornament Polychrome, Cent Planches en Couleurs Or et Argent [etc] by De M. A. Racinet, 1869 – 188.
I have the fac simile published by Taschen; the text has been translated from the French into English and German, but I think only in summary form. In addition, the fac simile mixes illustrations from L’Ornement des Tissus receuil historique et pratique by M. Dupont-Auberville (1877).
Title: L’Ornament Polychrome (Ornament in Colour)
Published by: Librarie de Firmin Didot Frères, Fils et Cie.
City: Paris
Date: 1869
Total items: 12
Out of copyright (called public domain in the USA), hence royalty-free for all purposes usage credit requested, or as marked.
Border, 9th century, Gallo-Frankish School
This gold full-page border features knotwork at the upper corners and two lions on the top. It is a detail from Fig. 99-7, which shows a much more ornate border dating from the 9th century. [more...] [$]
Fig. 99 No. 7.—Ornate border, 9th century, Gallo-Frankish School.
This gold full-page border from the ninth century features knotwork at the upper corners and two lions on the top. I also made a simplified version of this border. [more...] [$]
Inhabited Initial letter B, Anglo-Saxon
This capital letter B is from an Anglo-Saxon illuminated manuscript from about 1,000 years ago; the book does not identify the exact source but notes that although the decoration is in the Celtic [...] [more...] [$]
Byzantine Saint seated, with book
A saint, by the hair probably female, sits on a chair and points to a book held in one hand in this detail from an illuminated letter B from an Anglo-Saxon manuscript. She (or he) has a halo, bare feet, robes and a smile. And a very long index finger. [more...] [$]
Persion ceramic tile border: flowers and vines, bright version
This is a more brightly coloured version of the Persian ceramic tile full-page border. Note that the brightness of the dark blue background may vary as the image is resized or sharpened. [more...] [$]
Note: If you got here from a search engine and don’t see what you were looking for, it might have moved onto a different page within this gallery.