Letter O c. 16th century

Editor: Here we have Letter O, artist unknown, held at the Harvard Art Museums. The black and white contrast is striking, giving it a crisp, graphic feel, like a page torn from a medieval manuscript. What leaps out at you? Curator: It whispers of illuminated manuscripts, doesn't it? I'm immediately drawn to the tension between the rigid geometric form of the "O" and the organic, almost chaotic, flora blossoming within. Almost like nature reclaiming order, or perhaps the reverse? It's a dance. Editor: A dance! I like that. So, it's not just a pretty letter? Curator: Oh, honey, is anything *just* pretty? This is a whole world contained in a single character. It makes you wonder, doesn't it, what stories began with this very "O"? Editor: Definitely gives me a new appreciation for typography! Curator: Right? And that anonymous hand... it's a story in itself.