June 29–January 6, 2008

Exhibition Details

Dead Sea Scrolls traces the transmission of sacred texts from the oldest known copies (the Dead Sea Scrolls) to modern-day interpretations. Commissioned by Saint John’s Abbey and University, The Saint John’s Bible is a contemporary work created in the tradition of medieval manuscripts. It is the first handwritten, illuminated Bible to be commissioned since the advent of the printing press more than 500 years ago.

Valley of the Dry Bones, Donald Jackson, ©2005, The Saint John’s Bible and the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library, St. John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota USA. Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Catholic Edition, Copyright 1993, 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Working with a team of theologians and artists from Saint John’s Abbey and University, Donald Jackson leads the project. His team has spent the last six years scribing and illustrating the manuscript using quills and paints hand-ground from minerals and stones such as lapis lazuli, malachite, silver, copper, and 24-karat gold. Aside from laying out designs via computer, the processes, from creating the ink to polishing vellum, exactly mirror medieval tradition.

Vision of the Son of Man, Donald Jackson with contributions from Aidan Hart, ?2005, The Saint John’s Bible and the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library, St. John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota USA.

Dead Sea Scrolls will feature three pages from the project’s fourth volume, Prophets: Isaiah 10:4–32; Valley of the Dry Bones, with text from Ezekiel 36:15–37:25; and Vision of the Son of Man, with text from Daniel 6:17–7:15.

Consisting of 1150 pages, each two feet tall and three feet wide, The Saint John’s Bible will be completed in 2008. It will consist of seven volumes and be housed permanently at the Hill House Museum and Manuscript Library at Saint John’s Abbey and University in Minnesota. For more information on the project, visit www.saintjohnsbible.org.

One of the world’s leading calligraphers, Jackson is senior scribe to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s Crown Office at the House of Lords in the United Kingdom. He is an elected fellow and past chairman of the Society of Scribes and Illuminators.

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