Initial A c. 16th century

Editor: This is an initial "A," created by an anonymous artist. It's a woodcut, and it feels so dense and almost overgrown with detail, doesn't it? What do you make of all the foliage and tiny figures tucked inside? Curator: It reminds me of illuminated manuscripts, where the first letter blooms into a whole world. I wonder what text this "A" was meant to introduce. Was it a grand epic, a psalm, or maybe just someone's shopping list? The possibilities make it wonderfully mysterious. Editor: A shopping list! That's a funny thought. So, do you think the anonymity adds to the mystique? Curator: Absolutely. It lets us project our own stories onto it. For me, it’s a little portal to a lost time, a tiny garden of secrets. Editor: I love that. I'll definitely look at initials differently now.