The Saint John's Bible

Donald Jackson, with a contribution from Aidan Hart
'Vision of the Son of Man, Daniel 7:9-14'
Illuminated bible page
2005
Hand ground ink, watercolour and gold leaf on calfskin vellum
Hill Museum & Manuscript Library Collection

Sally Mae Joseph
'Now the Word, Jeremiah 1:4-10'
Illuminated bible page
2004
Colour hand-ground Japanese stick ink, shell (powder) gold on calfskin vellum
Hill Museum & Manuscript Library Collection

The production of The Saint John's Bible is a combination of the ancient and modern. It emulates the spirit of the great medieval Bibles, using animal skin, handmade quills and natural, hand-ground inks and pigments. Yet at the same time it incorporates the latest computer technology and contemporary texts (the New Revised Standard Version).

The seven volumes of the Bible will eventually be bound in 200-year-old Welsh oak boards and permanently housed in the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library at Saint John's Abbey & University.

For many years Donald Jackson, Senior Illuminator to Her Majesty's Crown Office, had dreamed of creating a modern, illuminated Bible to celebrate the new millennium. Finally, in November 1995, he presented the idea to Saint John's Benedictine Abbey & University in Minnesota.

Work started in 2000 and is scheduled for completion in 2007, at a total cost of over £2 million. It is taking place in a scriptorium in Monmouth, Wales, under the artistic direction of Donald Jackson and his team of scribes and illuminators

For more information see The Saint John's Bible website