
In art and archaeology, sculpture and painting, a register is a horizontal level in a work that consists of several levels arranged one above the other, especially where the levels are clearly separated by lines. Modern
comic books typically use similar conventions. It is thus comparable to a row, or a line in modern texts. In the study of ancient writing, such as
cuneiform and Egyptian
hieroglyphs, "register" may be used of vertical compartments like columns containing writing that are arranged side by side and separated by lines, especially in
cylinder seals, which often mix text and images. Normally, when dealing with images it only refers to row compartments stacked vertically.
The use of registers is common in
Ancient Egyptian art, from the
Narmer Palette onwards, and in
medieval art in large
frescos and
illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared manuscript, document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as marginalia, borders and Miniature (illuminated manuscript), miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Churc ...
s.
Narrative art, especially covering the lives of sacred figures, is often presented as a sequence of small scenes arranged in registers.
Sculpted
Luwian language hieroglyphs were also usually arranged in registers one above the other. The direction of reading ran from one of the top corners, and reversed direction in each lower register, so that the reader did not have to start at the other end of each new row.
[Daniels, Peter T., ''The World's Writing Systems'']
pp. 120–121
1996, Oxford University Press, . Other examples, in the
art of Mesopotamia, are
Kudurru, or boundary stones, which often had registers of
gods on the upper registers of the scenes.
File:MorganLeafVerso.jpg, Scenes from the life of David over three registers. The "Morgan Leaf", detached from the illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared manuscript, document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as marginalia, borders and Miniature (illuminated manuscript), miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Churc ...
Winchester Bible of 1160−75.
Image:Caillou Michaux CdM.jpg, Babylonian kudurru of the late Kassite period found near Baghdad. The upper images are in two registers.
References
{{Reflist
Art history
Sculpture