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Sangorski, Alberto, Calligrapher and Illuminator
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Description
Thomas Moore. Paradise and the Peri. London, 1909
Illuminated manuscript on vellum (10 3/8 x 8 in.; 264 x 203 mm), 16 leaves plus three blank vellum leaves in front and one at end, 2 additional paper (art vellum) flyleaves, 28 decorated pages plus colophon page, written in a roman script in black and red, full-page frontispiece of a pair of angels standing upon clouds, title-page with very large historiated P within a full page border and vignette of three angels at the foot; 17 illuminated initials with various infill and grounds, 10 other penwork initials chiefly in red and blue, 5 tailpiece vignettes and 3 borders. Colophon leaf: "This manuscript, the poem of 'Paradise and the Peri' by Thomas Moore, was designed, written out, and illuminated by Alberto Sangorski, London, anno domini nineteen hundred and nine." Dark blue levant morocco, frame of 5 fillets and gold dots, inner border of gilt stippled dentelle, upper cover with large shaped oval medallion of gilt stippled dentelle with onlaid large knotwork corners, the center set with a single oval, flanked by 4 diamonds and 4 pink rubies, all set within a densely gilt ground, spine in 6 compartments with 5 raised bands, lettered gilt in 2 compartments, gilt stipple with a small circular red onlay in the rest, turn-ins gilt ruled and dotted, doublures and guards of ivory watered silk, edges gilt, by Sangorski and Sutcliffe. Fleece-lined cloth folding case; joints of case cracked.
Illuminated manuscript on vellum (10 3/8 x 8 in.; 264 x 203 mm), 16 leaves plus three blank vellum leaves in front and one at end, 2 additional paper (art vellum) flyleaves, 28 decorated pages plus colophon page, written in a roman script in black and red, full-page frontispiece of a pair of angels standing upon clouds, title-page with very large historiated P within a full page border and vignette of three angels at the foot; 17 illuminated initials with various infill and grounds, 10 other penwork initials chiefly in red and blue, 5 tailpiece vignettes and 3 borders. Colophon leaf: "This manuscript, the poem of 'Paradise and the Peri' by Thomas Moore, was designed, written out, and illuminated by Alberto Sangorski, London, anno domini nineteen hundred and nine." Dark blue levant morocco, frame of 5 fillets and gold dots, inner border of gilt stippled dentelle, upper cover with large shaped oval medallion of gilt stippled dentelle with onlaid large knotwork corners, the center set with a single oval, flanked by 4 diamonds and 4 pink rubies, all set within a densely gilt ground, spine in 6 compartments with 5 raised bands, lettered gilt in 2 compartments, gilt stipple with a small circular red onlay in the rest, turn-ins gilt ruled and dotted, doublures and guards of ivory watered silk, edges gilt, by Sangorski and Sutcliffe. Fleece-lined cloth folding case; joints of case cracked.
Catalogue Note
A resplendent illuminated manuscript in a sumptuous jeweled binding. In Persian and Islamic mythology, peris are descended from fallen angels who have been denied paradise until they have done penance. in Thomas Moore's Paradise and the Peri in Lalla-Rookh, a Peri gains entrance to heaven after three attempts at giving an angel the gift most dear to God. The first attempt is "The last Libation Libery draws | From the heart that bleeds and breaks in her cause—a drop of blood from a young soldier killed for an attempt on the life of Mahmud of Ghazni. The second is "Precious sigh | of pure, self-sacrificing love"—a sigh stolen from the dying lips of a maiden who died with her lover of the plague. The third gift is a "Tear that, warm and meek | Dew'd that repentant sinner's cheek"—the tear of an evil old man who repented upon seeing a child praying in the ruins of the Temple of the Sun at Balbec, Syria.