King David Playing the Psaltery, Saint Francis receiving the Stigmata, illuminated miniatures on the Beatus leaf of a choir Psalter of Franciscan use, manuscript on vellum

a single leaf, 563 mm. by 420 mm., with a very large initial 'B' ("Beatus vir qui non abiit ...", Psalm 1), 165 mm. by 153 mm., King David seated in a semi-circular enclosure plucking a psaltery on his lap, gazing upwards, Christ appearing in a mandorla above him displaying his wounds and with the beams of the Cross behind him, all within an extremely elaborate leafy initial with its left-hand stem grasped by two Franciscan friars, on a highly burnished gold panel, supporting a full illuminated border of very lush scrolling coloured plants and flowers on burnished gold backgrounds including two polychrome birds, thirteen Franciscan friars peering out from the foliage, one friar pointing at another reading a book, one friar hanging over a plant stem reading a scroll, one bearded friar's face at the upper left staring straight out at the viewer (possibly a self-portrait of the artist), at the foot of the page Saint Francis himself kneeling on a grassy knoll, his hands raised, receiving the stigmata on his hands, feet and chest in the form of red lines descending diagonally from a Christ on the Cross appearing in the right-hand margin, in a mandorla, wrapped in the red wings of cherubim, text with a line of music at top on a 4-line red stave and 12 lines of text in a rounded gothic hand, verso with 14 lines of text and 5 decorated initials, old ink foliation '4' in outer margin, slight wear at foot, in wooden frame

Sold in these rooms, "The Property of a Gentleman", 14 June 1926, lot 138; afterwards Maggs, catalogue 512 (1928), no. 287.  Galerie Fischer, Luzern, cat. 248, 21 November 1977, lot 810.

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This is the opening leaf of a magnificent choir Psalter of Franciscan use, attributable to Giovanni d'Antonio da Bologna, active in Emilia and Romagna, c. 1432-45 (cf. M. Medica in La miniature a Ferrara dal tempo di Cosmè Tura all'erdità di Ercole de' Roberti, 1998, p. 81, and M. Medica in Dizionario biografico dei miniatori italiani, 2004, pp. 283-5).  The present leaf is evidently Franciscan.  The artist also worked for the Franciscan convent of Rab, now Croatia, but the provenance of the manuscript is not known.  A group of its principal illuminated leaves appeared on the market in 1926-27: the sale in these rooms, 14 June 1926, lots 138-41; Hoepli, Manoscritti, Miniature, cat. 1927, no. 359; and Paul Graupe, Kostbare Buchminiaturen, sale 76, Berlin, 12 December 1927, lots 53-56.  The main divisions of the Psalter were probably: (i) Psalm 1, Beatus vir, the present leaf, by far the finest and most important in the group; (ii) Psalm 26, Dominus illuminatio, Lia collection 589 (A. De Floriani in La Spezia, Museo Civico Amedeo Lia, Miniature, ed. F. Todini, 1996, pp. 150-57, no. 34, citing the present miniature on pp. 150 and 156, n.4, and fig.(b) on p. 152); (iii) Psalm 38, Dixi custodiam, sold in these rooms, 14 June 1926, lot 141; (iv) Psalm 52, Dixit insipiens, sold by Graupe, Berlin, 12 December 1927, lot 56; (v) Psalm 68, Salvum me fac, sold in these rooms, 14 June 1926, lot 140; (vi) Psalm 80, Exultate deo, Cleveland Museum of Art, J. H. Wade Fund, CMA 53.641 (P. M. de Winter in The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, LXX, 1983, pp. 344-47, illustrating the present miniature as fig. 63, "Whereabouts unknown"); (vii) Psalm 97, Cantate domino, sold in these rooms, 23 June 1992, lot 16 (C. de Hamel, A History of Illuminated Manuscripts, 2 ed., 1994, p. 222, pl. 202); and (viii) Psalm 109, Dixit dominus, probably the leaf sold in these rooms, 21 June 1994; and (ix) Psalm 131, Memento domine, probably the leaf in the Cini Foundation in Venice (G. M. Canova, Miniature dell'Italia settentrionale, 1978, p. 30, no. 63, citing the present miniature as untraced).