Probably Leipzig missal workshop
Choir book of Naumburg Cathedral, 1504-after 1506
Parchment, bound in wooden boards covered in pigskin
Vereinigte Domstifter zu Merseburg und Naumburg und des Kollegiatstifts Zeitz
This choir book is one of the largest and finest manuscripts to survive from the Middle Ages. It belongs to a set of eight such volumes. These manuscripts contain abundant high-quality miniature paintings and leafy designs. At least five different artists painted and gilded (decorated with gold) the miniatures that correspond to special festivals. While the miniatures contain representations of the Virgin Mary and the saints, a rich variety of forms and colors are present in the elaborate vine ornamentation. Alongside motifs from court culture and comical images, there are remarkably natural representations of plants and animals, with many species of birds.