Adulterous women, large miniature on a single leaf from an illuminated canon law manuscript, in Latin, on vellum

single leaf, 461mm. by 295mm., 52 lines of main text, enclosed by 90 lines of marginal gloss, all in dark brown ink in a professional rounded late Gothic hand, rubrics in red, paragraph-marks in red and blue, numerous 1- and 2-line initials in red and blue, ten 2- or 3-line initials in same with elaborate contrasting penwork, one 5-line initial in pale brown enclosing brightly coloured stylised foliage and terminating in coloured leafy fronds, all on burnished gold ground, a large miniature portraying an adulterous wife, 75mm. by 85mm., of a woman in a bright red dress with a gold neckline, appearing on the right with her hair modestly held back with a headscarf, and standing before a female attendant and a bearded man who is most probably her husband, and gazing alluringly at a young man as she is introduced to him, and on the left with her hair adorned with a tiara, and standing between two other men in fine robes, who each clasp one of her hands, all set before two medieval towers and a burnished gold sky heightened in yellow paint, above a 5-line historiated initial apparently containing the head of the husband, on burnished gold ground, and with coloured leafy extensions down the margin enclosing gold bezants, some minor damp-staining to base, else in outstanding condition, in a card mount

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."

text

The text of the present leaf is from a section of Gratian's Decretum, with the commentary of Bartholomeo da Brescia (d. 1258), on adulterous wives (ch. 32). The manuscript was evidently broken up before 1912 when C. B. Marlay (1831-1912) bequeathed a number of leaves and fragments from it to the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (Marlay Cuttings It. 3-11; Wormald & Giles, Descriptive Catalogue, i, 107-8; S. L'Engle & R. Gibbs, Illuminating the Law: Medieval Legal Manuscripts in Cambridge Collections, 2001, no. 5, 126-32).

illumination

The present miniature is of a rare and fascinating subject, and is from the eponymous manuscript of the 'Marlay-Gratian workshop' which produced a number of lavishly illuminated Canon Law manuscripts in Bologna c. 1320. Others, identified by L'Engle & Gibbs include Vatican, lat. 2492 and Venice, Bib. Marciana, MS. lat. Z.175, and perhaps another can be found in a manuscript of Justinian law in the BnF (Avril & Gousset, Manuscrits Enluminés D'Origine Italienne 2: XIIIe Siècle, 1984, no. 141, pl. lxxii).

From the collection of the late Dr F. Jossi.