Letter T c. 15th century

Editor: This is an anonymous artwork titled "Letter T" from the Harvard Art Museums. It feels like a medieval manuscript page, with its ornate black and white design. What do you see in the symbolic imagery here? Curator: The letter becomes a vessel, doesn't it? The "T" is adorned with stylized flora and fauna, creatures perhaps drawn from bestiaries. These images would have been instantly recognizable, loaded with meaning for their intended audience. What stories might they be hinting at? Editor: It's like a whole world contained within a single letter! I hadn't thought about the bestiaries as a cultural reference. Curator: Exactly! It's a tiny echo chamber of cultural memory. Editor: So much symbolism packed into such a small space. I'll definitely look at illuminated letters differently from now on.