tudents can step back in time Sunday as the 2006-2007 Quayle Bible Collection is officially opened.
This year, an open house will be held from 2:30-4:30 p.m. that will include demonstrations of painting and manuscript writing from long ago. The demonstrations will be held at 3:30 p.m.
According to John Forbes, curator of the Quayle Rare Bible Collection, the open house has involved only refreshments in past years.
“Some things came together this year to make demonstrations part of what we’re doing,” Forbes said. “We’re going to have refreshments. I will be demonstrating a script that was first used in the court of Charlemagne, and Professor of Art Walt Bailey is going to show how color was applied to parchment, treated animal skin, the writing surface of the day.”
Bailey said he will display some of the physical materials that were used by the copiers on Bibles before the printing press.
“Everything in those books were hand-done,” Bailey said. “It was a little bit before the digital revolution.”
Bailey said Forbes contacted him last summer and asked what he knew about illuminated manuscripts.
“The pictures usually had gold on them,” Bailey said, “and when the pages were opened up, they sprang with light.”
Bailey emphasized that he will only be giving demonstrations. He will not be teaching a how-to session.
“I’m not going to teach you. I can show you the materials and tell you how it was done, but to learn it would take years,” he said.
Among the materials that Bailey will be demonstrating with are specific kinds of hand-made brushes used for illumination work, parchment and vellum in their original animal-skin form, and the paint that was used.
“The pigment that is used to get the ultra-marine color comes from a semiprecious stone called Lapis Luzuli. I have purchased that, and I will also have some powdered ultra-marine pigment that is commercially produced,” he said.
Bailey said to get the pigment to adhere to the surface being painted artists often used “the very substance you have a hard time scraping off your plate if you didn’t wash your dishes… egg.”
Bailey said these forms of art are not for everyone.
“All of these things were crafts, and the artisans had to become masters at handling these things,” he said.
In addition to the demonstrations by Bailey and Forbes, there will also be a video display of someone writing manuscript from the court of Charlemagne.
Forbes talked about another unique aspect of the open house.
“We have a funny little character called Titivillus,” Forbes said. “He’s the patron demon of medieval scribes. Today, he’s responsible for when people make mistakes on the computer. People who come Sunday will get an autographed self-portrait of this whimsical character.”
Forbes encouraged students to view the collection.
“It relates to a lot of classes that they have taken, are taking or will take,” he said. “Since it’s a Bible collection, it’s a direct link to their faith, and I think it’s interesting.”
Professor of Religion George Wiley also encouraged students to visit the collection.
“You can see items there that are just a walk away that otherwise you would have to go a long way to find,” Wiley said. “You could learn things about the Bible that you didn’t have any idea about.”
Wiley also explained why he thought the collection was important to Baker.
“It’s something that sets us apart from other schools. It’s a reminder of our connection with the United Methodist Church,” he said. “It also has a lot of teaching potential, not just for religion, but for a number of disciplines.”
Wiley said his favorite artifact in the collection is a page from the Gutenberg Bible.
Forbes said the page was his favorite too.
“He printed in about 1450-1456, and we have a leaf from it. Thanks to that, all librarians have a job, including me.”
Those who cannot attend the open house on Sunday can view the collection while it is open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 1-4 p.m. and Sundays through Dec. 10, from 1:30-4 p.m.