The paint surfaces in the Psalter of Henry of Blois

THE condition of the miniatures in the Psalter of Henry of Blois, British Library MS. Cotton Nero C. IV, has long been a subject of interest to students of Romanesque illumination. Those who have commented upon this problem agreed that originally the miniatures were fully painted. At some point, the paint flaked away, leaving traces of color on some of the figures. It was also suggested that the lapus lazuli of the backgrounds was deliberately scraped off to be reused. Because of the loss of most of their original paint, the miniatures were considered to be in an extremely fragmentary condition.