Description
7 leaves, including (a) single leaf, 235mm. by 156mm., from a decorated manuscript of Aristotle's Metaphysica (here the opening of book 1), with two large line-drawn historiated roundels, c. 52mm. in diameter, either side of simple foliage in black ink heightened in red, enclosing portraits of a lion and a winged creature both clasping a ball as the lion swallows the head of the winged creature, and a woman's head in an elaborately folded headscarf, each above a large red initial and single line of text in angular Gothic 'black-letter' script, double column, 43 lines in black ink in a small cursive hand, large Gothic script used throughout to open significant sections of text, underlining in red, paragraph-marks in red, slight discolouration to recto and two wormholes, Germany, mid-fifteenth century; (b) a bifolium, each leaf 177-87mm. by 125mm., slightly trimmed on a slant at base, from a Gradual, with large initial 'V' (opening "Viri galilei ...", the Introit of the Mass of Christ at Ascension), 81mm. in height, in burnished gold heightened with yellow penwork, on pink ground within multi-coloured frame, enclosing Mary Magdalene and Christ's followers kneeling in prayer in a grassy landscape as Christ disappears into the clouds above, 5 lines of text in black ink in a tall angular hand with accompanying music on 4-line red staves, initials touched in red, rubrics in red, three large initials in red or blue, Germany (perhaps southern Germany), second half of fifteenth century; (c) single leaf from a prestigious manuscript of an Evangeliary-Commentary in German, 375mm. by 274mm., with a large historiated initial 'A' (opening "Aller weistum ist ...") 125mm. in height, in blue with white penwork on burnished gold ground (now much rubbed revealing red undercoat), tooled in scrolling patterns, within pink frame, initial enclosing full-length portrait of God the father in gold robes embroidered with blue, holding a blue sceptre and blessing, with angels kneeling either side of him on a multi-coloured tiled floor, elaborate coloured foliate extensions into margin enclosing a pink banderole with the chapter number '1', a fly and a man spearing a bear, pasted-in miniature removed from bas-de-page and replaced later with fine sixteenth- or seventeenth-century coat-of-arms on paper with two wild-men, 30 lines in black ink in a fine German late Gothic bookhand, initials touched in red, paragraph-marks, rubric and one 2-line initial in red, some minor wear, else in excellent condition, Austria, mid-fifteenth century; (c) single leaf, 592mm. by 411mm., from a Gradual, with a large historiated initial 'K' (opening "Kyrie eleison ..." the Ordinary Mass for double feasts) most probably by Frater Blazeja Dereya, 185mm. in height, in elaborate 'candelabrum' design within interlaced strapwork border infilled with many colours, and terminating in the heads of a king and a pope, 8 lines of text in black ink in a fine late bookhand with accompanying music on a 4-line red stave, rubrics, titles and page-numbers '491-2' in red, numerous elaborate calligraphic initials (three with coloured wash), penwork flourishes at base of each page containing tiny cursive lines in Latin and Polish (transcribed by Dr F. Jossi and transcription now pasted into mount), in excellent condition, Poland (most probably a Dominican house in Krakow), c. 1630; plus a leaf from an early sixteenth-century German Antiphoner and another from an early sixteenth-century Gradual of northern German or Netherlandic origin, both with large decorated initials; all in card mounts
Condition
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."
Catalogue Note
A number of items in the present lot are particularly fascinating. Items a and b are outstanding examples of German decorated scholastic and monastic manuscripts. Item c was bought in our rooms, 8 December 1975, lot 17. It is the opening leaf of an Evangeliary-Commentary, beginning with a discussion of the nature of God, and another manuscript of the same text can be found in Klosterneuburg, Augustiner-Chorherrenstift, Cod. 4, a volume made in Austria c. 1410. The illumination here would appear to set this manuscript above that one, and perhaps even suggest that it was made for a prestigious patron; the initial and border decoration is similar to the style of the Lehrbüchermeister who illuminated a volume for Emperor Maximillian in the second half of the fifteenth century. Finally, item d was also bought in our rooms, 8 December 1981, lot 20, and described in error there as perhaps German or Scandinavian. It is in fact Polish, and moreover most probably the work of the artist Frater Blazeja Dereya who worked in Krakow in the years around 1630 (compare the reproductions in L. Lepszy, Iluminowane rêkopisy ksiêgozbioru oo. Dominikanów w Krakowie, 1926, and note the sale of a signed fragment of his work in our rooms, 2 December 1986, lot 26). Polish manuscripts with significant decoration are exceedingly rare, and seldom emerge on the market.
All from the collection of the late Dr F. Jossi.
