Kennicott Bible

Folio 185

King David as an old man at the beginning of the Book of Kings, is seated on a stylised gold and coloured throne decorated with geometrical interlaces and penwork foliage motifs. He has a long greying beard, wears a large crown, and holds a large gold club for a sceptre. The miniature bears, however, some resemblance to pictures of the king in playing cards from a popular Spanish pack of cards. David’s large club should be compared with a sheet of various Catalan cards which was found in the binding of a book printed in Barcelona in 1495 and may have been available to Joseph, the artist when he designed King David. By providing it with a Biblical context, Joseph produced a re¬presentation of David that is apparently unique.
Leaf size is approximately 320 x 262mm (12.5 x 10in)