Illuminated Manuscript: “Sapari Tema” Remake

Original Author: Sa’adia ben Amram
Title of Work:  סַפְּרִי תַמָּה תְמִימָה   (Sapari Tema Temimah – “Tell me, O innocent one”)

I decided this time around to create a piece reminiscent of Mediaeval illuminated manuscripts, and illustrated some of the key themes from the poem. This is in no way an accurate portrayal of illuminated manuscripts, from the modern materials I have used to the lack of design elements that are featured in proper manuscripts. All this should be considered is my commemorative piece, to exalt a forgotten poet, and to remember a bygone era of Yemen, where Hebrew could still be heard spoken on the streets of Sana’a.

I am still trying to piece together the translation; this post will be updated once I get there.

If you haven’t already, please do visit my older post on Sapari from 2015 CE.

Useless Trivia:
Everything I painted is intentional with the exception of the clouds. They are there to cover up a few blobs of blue paint caused by my cat, who was only trying to help. What makes a good Artist? They are the ones who can improvise when such accidents happen during the execution process (after a brief moment of anxiety and an elevated heart rate, that is).