A seated king debating with a crowd of masters, very large miniature on a leaf from book III of Brunetti Latini, Livre de Trésor, in French, illuminated manuscript on vellum

single leaf, 290mm. by 129mm., very large arch-topped miniature, 178mm. by 144mm., enclosing a king seated on a richly ornamented master's chair, dressed in blue robes with gold embroidery at the neck and holding a gold sceptre, between two vast groups of scholars who taper off to each side (those on the left apparently kneeling), as the king reproaches an apparent commoner in a blue hood who stands before him, all set within a detailed Gothic interior scene, above a 4-line initial in blue with white penwork and coloured floral infill on a burnished gold ground (very slightly smudged), with a full decorated border of acanthus-leaves and sprays of more naturalistic foliage, double column, 9 lines on verso of brown ink in delicate lettre batârde with first line in Gothic script, single column of 19 lines of lettre batârde on verso, rubrics in red, trimmed to edges of border decoration, very minor flaking of paint from base of chair and along horizontal line in foreground of miniature from folding of leaf, and perhaps small area of retouching to foot of commoner, else in outstanding condition, in 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

This is a large and unusual miniature from a grand secular manuscript, and opens Book III, ch. 2 of the Livre de Trésor by the Florentine notary and chancellor Bruno Latini (named in the initial lines as maistre brunet latin; d. 1294), who was a friend of Dante. He wrote this encyclopaedia of history, geography, science, human behaviour and rhetoric and politics in French in 1261-8 during his exile in France. It remained a much sought after aristocratic text throughout the fifteenth century, and F. J. Carmody, Li Livres dou Tresor de Brunetto Latini, 1948, pp. xlvi-liv, lists seventy-three extant manuscripts. The present miniature opens a section of the text on the art of rhetoric, and shows a seated king between two crowds of masters reproaching an apparent commoner, while handing a written document to the scholars on the right. Another leaf from the same manuscript was sold in our rooms 20 June 1995, lot 18.

From the collection of the late Dr. F. Jossi.

illumination

The style is close to the work of the Anjou painter whom Prof. König first named the October Master from his association with the October miniature in the Calendar of the Duc de Berry's Très Riches Heures, and now more cautiously called the Master of Barthélemy l'Anglais or the Master of the Propriétes des Choses, both named from a copy of that text now BnF. ms. fr. 135 (König, 'Un grand miniaturiste inconnu du XVe siècle français: le peintre de l'Octobre des Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry', Dossiers l'archéologie, xvi, 1976, pp. 96-123; Plummer, Last Flowering, 1982, no. 35; N. Reynaud in Reynaud & Avril, Les Manuscrits à peintures en France, 1440-1520, 1993, nos. 52-3.