Silver Crescent - Francesco

Another of my "wee scrolls" at 5'x7", this was a fun one if for no other reason that we had a ridiculous time working with Erhart von Stuttgart for wording. Finding words that "rhyme with speak" devolved into giggles during out weekly Scriptorium get together.  Because "on fleek" and "Mozambique" also rhyme with the target phrase. :)  He was a good sport who let us take his key words and run with it.

I'm particularly proud of the sketching on this.  I decided to include the peacock because of Her Majesty's heraldry.  I think he turned out pretty cute.

The hand I used for this was a humanist bookhand.  It's a little late for the source, but I didn't want to do a full on gothic script.  I had wanted to go a "proto-gothic" transitional but lost the source document for the script I liked.  My thought on this was humanist at least made it recognizable as an Italian source which was the key in picking this for the recipient's persona (even though the original is Italian with wording in Hebrew).

Recipient:  Barone Francesco Gaetano Gréco d’Edessa
Award: Order of the Silver Crescent
Source: British Library - Additional 11657 f. 27 and f.110v
Illumination: gouache on pergamenata, Schmincke gold watercolor
Calligraphy: Humanist. 

Side by side with the two originals.  The scroll became a blend of the two so I could include the peacock.

Finished scroll.  The outlining here is done and just needs signature lines.