Capital I c. 1527

Curator: This image presents an initial "I," artist unknown, currently residing in the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: The density of detail packed into such a small space is striking. It feels weighty, almost monumental, despite its probable diminutive scale. Curator: Precisely. Note the texture created by the stippled background against the stark white of the letterform. The contrast lends the "I" visual prominence. Editor: And those serpentine dragon heads intertwined with the foliate designs...they immediately conjure up images of illuminated manuscripts, a sense of the sacred and the authoritative word. Curator: The graphic nature suggests this "I" may have been used as a printing element. Editor: The image evokes a lost world of craftsmanship and painstaking labor. It makes me wonder what text this initial "I" once introduced. Curator: A fascinating detail to contemplate as we consider its formal qualities. Editor: Indeed. Every detail tells a story, real or imagined.