illuminated manuscripts

Original illuminated manuscripts, individually designed, written, gilded and painted by hand.

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Andrew Jamieson was formally trained in manuscript illumination and calligraphy alongside heraldic painting from 1980–1983. For more than four decades these closely related disciplines have remained at the heart of his work.

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His illuminated manuscripts draw upon the great traditions of medieval and Renaissance illumination without copying historical pages. Each is an original work created for its particular text, person or occasion.

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made by hand

An illuminated manuscript is more than writing surrounded by decoration. Text, miniature painting, lettering, ornament and gold must be conceived as a single composition.

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Andrew develops each page through drawing and layout studies before beginning the finished work.

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Traditional materials may include calfskin vellum, prepared quills and inks, pigments, shell gold and genuine 24-carat gold leaf. Raised gold may be laid over gesso and burnished by hand to give the brilliant reflective surface characteristic of historic illumination.

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The original artwork is created physically by hand. It is not a digitally generated image.

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tradition & originality

Andrew's knowledge of historical manuscript traditions allows a work to carry the character of a particular period without becoming a facsimile of it.

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Medieval inspired contemporary imagery. Heraldry can sit beside personal symbols, plants, animals or architecture. A traditional or contemporary script may form part of a completely original composition.

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The techniques are ancient. The work is new.

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Andrew's illuminated commissions range from individual initials and miniature paintings to illuminated poems, presentation pieces, commemorative documents and complete manuscript pages.

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In 2023 his disciplines of illumination, heraldry, lettering and symbolic design came together in the official invitation he created for the Coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla.

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Each finished illumination is intended not merely as an image, but as an enduring object — made by hand, made for an individual purpose, and made to last.

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