Great Bindings in the Royal Spanish collections, 15th century - 21st century - Collectif - El Viso - broché - Beau livre

The exhibition on the collection of royal bound volumes belonging to Spain's National Heritage, Great Bindings in the Royal Collections, will bring together the extraordinary treasure trove of bound volumes preserved at the Royal Palace Library and in the Libraries of the Monasteries of El Escorial, Las Huelgas, Las Descalzas and La Encarnación for the very first time, works that make up one of the world's finest collections with regard to the art of binding. These royal bound volumes reflect the endeavours of the corresponding craftsmen to achieve an ideal in which technical expertise is combined with artistic splendour. As truly exclusive creations, these works can be enjoyed as much for their appeal to the touch as for the visual delights they offer. Nevertheless, their cultural significance goes beyond the realm of luxury. Their meaning resides in their ceremonial and representative function, in their endeavour to achieve the category required for an institutional work, in their ab