Img. ID: 629411
  Illuminated Manuscripts  

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Fol. 137: The initial word “Hosha(na)” (הושע(נא)), opening the Seder Hosha‘anot for Sukkot (Davidson, ל, 1151), is written in large display script in alternating dark-brown and red ink. Each letter is outlined with fine wriggle-work decoration. The initial word is flanked by two zoomorphic hybrids: Left — a rampant lion-like creature facing right, with an elongated tail curling downward and ending in a foliate-like motif, gazing toward the word. Right — a long-bodied hybrid, similarly facing toward the word, with an extended curling tail running along the inner margin, and a horned beast-like head.The hybrids are executed in brown and ochre washes with ink outlines. Rubricated initial words continue below in alternating red and dark-brown ink.The upper margins of the folio have been trimmed, resulting in the partial loss of the heads and upper parts of both marginal hybrids. This damage was most likely caused during one of the manuscript’s later rebindings.