National Library of Norway
Royal Danish Library’s 13th century Kristina Psalter (GKS 1606 4°)
The Brief
On 14 November 2023 we received an email from the National Library of Norway enquiring whether we could make a facsimile of part of the exquisite, illuminated Kristina Psalter, a 13th century manuscript created in France. It was located in Copenhagen and was required for a major exhibition opening in Oslo in 10 weeks’ time. With Christmas and New Year holidays intervening, we would have less than eight weeks to complete the work. The email went on to say “I should add that we are interested in a facsimile which to the greatest extent possible replicates the properties of the original manuscript”.
2024 marks 750 years since Landsloven, the Norwegian Law of the Land, was issued by King Magnus Lagabøte (the Lawmender) and the National Library was co-ordinating the Landslov Jubilee. The original Kristina Psalter was intended to be a centrepiece of the exhibition. Due to an unforeseen delay, a need arose to use a facsimile initially, until the original, now on display, became available from the Royal Library in Copenhagen. Facsimile Editions was consulted.
When the facsimile was delivered, a week early, we received the following message:
I’m glad to let you know that the replica arrived at my desk a short while ago. A great relief and perfect timing as we actually have representatives from the Royal Danish Library with us today for mounting of the other objects on loan from Denmark. This means all the experts on the original Kristina psalter have been looking at the replica and all agree it is an impressive work you have done and the replica looks beautiful. We are very pleased with this production and send you a heart-felt thank you from all of us at the Library.
This is one of a number of projects that we have completed over the years where, for reasons which may include a manuscript’s value or rarity, the cost of transporting and insuring it, the curatorial time for supervision and installation, the atmospheric and lighting display requirements, or simply the difficulty and cost of providing bullet-proof, round-the-clock security, manuscript loans have, understandably, been refused. Libraries and museums just cannot afford to risk losing their national treasures. The Dead Sea Scrolls are a case in point.
In these circumstances libraries and museums are increasingly turning to Facsimile Editions. Our facsimiles provide the perfect solution. Professionally lit in a museum or library setting, few would challenge the facsimile’s authenticity. And if calamity were to strike and the ‘manuscript’ were lost, damaged or destroyed, a quick call to Facsimile Editions would have another, identical one, back in the display case in no time at all!
The Project
In November 2023 the Kristina Psalter was undergoing conservation in the Royal Library’s state-of-the-art conservation studio located in a commercial area of Copenhagen. Two weeks after receipt of the email, we flew in from London armed with proofs we had had printed from the images the Library had supplied. We met Marte-Kine Sandengen, Head of Exhibitions at the National Library of Norway, who had travelled from Oslo together with her Danish colleagues outside a nondescript grey metal door on an empty street near a canal. It felt like the beginning of a good spy story!
Inside was an elegant space where people were at work on beautifully made benches surrounded by all the tools, materials and machinery that a conservator needs.
They had planned to display just the two leaves which we had been asked to reproduce, but it quickly became clear that despite the manuscript’s beauty and importance, two isolated leaves without the context of the volume from which they came may well be a disappointment to the exhibition’s visitors. Despite the serious lack of time available we suggested that we should, in addition, create and bind these leaves into a dummy binding so that the finished facsimile would appear as the entire manuscript open at the critical page. They agreed enthusiastically.
We spent the next few hours photographing, measuring and studying the manuscript, taking detailed notes about its gilding and its construction so that we could replicate the quire structure.
The gilding was a serious challenge. One leaf had raised pillow-like burnished gold, the other a kind of powdered gold. The parchment was a challenge too, but we knew of a perfect paper that would create the most accurate effect. Back in London, our notes were typed up and sent off to Italy for our printers to create new proofs. The binder was sent images and a video of the binding and asked to replicate it as closely as possible with a similar skin. Our calligrapher too was sent pictures and video and, using 23.5 carat gold leaf, started her experiments to replicate the gold.
An intense flurry of emails, Zoom calls and DHL packages ensued. Prints which were reproofed three times to achieve the greatest accuracy shuttled back and forth between London and Milan, pages once printed were sent to the calligrapher for gilding, and additional pages to make the book block were sent to the bindery for hand trimming, edge colouring and sewing. All stopped for Christmas and New Year after which, once gilt, the pages were sent to the bindery to be sewn in at exactly the position where folios 20 and 21 appear in the original manuscript. And then, somehow, miraculously, it all came together and was delivered on time.
The Norwegian caption reads:
Replica of the Kristina psalter (GKS 1606 4°). Provenance: France, 1200-1250. Owner: The Royal Library, Denmark. Replica made by Facsimile Editions, London, 2024.
It was not necessary to incur the time and expense of creating a full reproduction of the binding as the facsimile was to be exhibited open with the covers hidden. However, as the edges would be visible, a close approximation of the leather, thickness and shape was necessary to ensure a realistic experience.
The Kristina Psalter facsimile
To discuss this or any other project with us please just click below.