Lot 31

Book of Hours, Use of Rome, in Latin and French, illuminated manuscript on vellum

Estimate

8,000 - 12,000 GBP

bidding is closed

Description

102 leaves (1 blank), 170mm. by 109mm., wanting only a single leaf from the seventh gathering, collation: i^{6, ii-vi^{8, vii^{7 (v wanting), viii^{8, ix-xiii^{8, xiv^{1, modern foliation on occasional leaves with errors after fols. 53 & 84, but followed here, horizontal catchwords, written space 100mm. by 55mm., single column, 25 lines in brown ink in lettre bâtarde, rubrics in red, some letters touched in yellow, line-fillers throughout in colour and liquid gold, numerous 1-line initials in blue, red or burnished gold with elaborate penwork tracery to contrast, 2-line initials in burnished gold on pink or blue grounds heightened with white penwork,}}}}}} thirteen 9- to 11-line miniatures within square dull-gold frames, set within the text and surrounded by three-quarter borders of acanthus-leaf sprays and naturalistic flowers and fruit on parti-coloured dull-gold grounds (fols. 8r, 9r, 10r, 11r, 13r, 93rv, 94rv, 95r, 96v, 97rv), one large miniature (95mm. by 42mm.) below 16 lines of text on a leaf taken from another manuscript, cut down and bound in as a singleton at the end of the manuscript, twelve three-quarter page miniatures enclosed within arch-topped dull-gold frames, all above 4-line initials in dark brown heightened with delicate yellow-paint scrollwork, on blue grounds with white penwork, all surrounded by full borders of acanthus-leaf sprays and naturalistic flowers and fruit on parti-coloured dull-gold grounds (fols. 7r, 15r, 22r, 30r, 31r, 34v, 37v, 40v, 43v, 49r, 61r, 72r), twenty-four calendar miniatures, each month with an occupation and zodiac sign, with border on two sides of acanthus-leaf sprays and naturalistic flowers on parti-coloured dull-gold grounds, some staining to first leaf and lower edges at beginning of book, else in excellent condition with wide and clean margins and notably fresh miniatures, late seventeenth or early eighteenth century binding of purple velvet over wooden boards (now somewhat worn in places), remnants of fittings for clasps on upper and lower boards, but strong in binding

Provenance

provenance

1. Produced for a male patron (O intemerata in the male form: miserrimo peccatori on fol. 13v), who most probably lived in the vicinity of Paris, in the last quarter of the fifteenth century.

2. Subsequently in the library of a monastery in 'Sury': note on front pastedown in seventeenth-century hand. Most probably that Sury-le-Comtal, and the Benedictine priory there (founded 1092), some 35 miles from Lyon.

3. César Mogniat de Conflans, Royal Counsellor, Chief Notary and Head of the Royal Mint in Lyon (appears initially in Lyon records for 1638, and d. soon after 1710): his ex libris on the foot of the first leaf, ex libris D. Caesaris Mogniat.

Catalogue Note

text

The text includes a Calendar in French (fol. 1r); Gospels readings (7r); Obsecro te (11r) and O intemerata (13r); the Hours of the Virgin, incorporating the Hours of the Cross and the Hours of the Holy Spirit, with Matins (15r), Lauds (22r), Prime (31r), Terce (34v; mistakenly labelled prime), Sext (37v; mistakenly labelled terce), None (40v; mistakenly labelled sext), Vespers (43v; mistakenly labelled None), Compline (49r) followed by prayers; the Penitential Psalms (61r); a Litany (68v); Office of the Dead (72r); Suffrages of the Saints (93r); and an added leaf from another manuscript of much the same date (but somewhat shorter and wider) containing a prayer to the Cross (100r).

illumination

The illumination is by a follower of the Master of Jacques de Besançon (active c. 1480-1500), whose work enjoyed great popularity in the workshops of Paris, and includes the hallmark compositions and use of liquid gold to draw attention to folds in drapery.

The miniatures are as follows:

1. Folio 1r, two small square miniatures (each 39mm. by 39mm.) for the month of January: on the right a man in a large hat stands before a fire, a jug in his right hand, drinking from a bowl; on the left Aquarius as a naked angel with pink wings pouring a water-vessel into a stream.

2. Folio 1v, two small square miniatures (each 39mm. by 39mm.) for the month of February: on the right a woman in a headdress warms her hands before a fire; on the left Pisces as two fish joined by a fishing-line swimming in a river.

3. Folio 2r, two small square miniatures (each 39mm. by 39mm.) for the month of March: on the right a man prunes fruit-trees; on the left Aries as a sheep in a hilly landscape.

4. Folio 2v, two small square miniatures (each 39mm. by 39mm.) for the month of April: on the right a man in a grassy landscape holds two naturalistic sprigs of foliage picked out in liquid gold (representing planting); and on the left Taurus as a cow in a grassy landscape.

5. Folio 3r, two small square miniatures (each 39mm. by 39mm.) for the month of May: on the right a man before a walled town holding a hawk; on the left Gemini as two naked twins embracing.

6. Folio 3v, two small square miniatures (each 39mm. by 39mm.) for the month of June: on the right a man in a grassy field with a scythe and a sharpening stone; on the left Cancer as a crayfish in a river.

7. Folio 4r, two small square miniatures (each 39mm. by 39mm.) for the month of July: on the right a man harvesting wheat; on the left Leo as a lion.

8. Folio 4v, two small square miniatures (each 39mm. by 39mm.) for the month of August: on the right a man holding a threshing-stick, pauses in a field at night to drink from a flagon; on the left Virgo as a young woman in a pink dress holding a palm of martyrdom.

9. Folio 5r, two small square miniatures (each 39mm. by 39mm.) for the month of September: on the right a man treading grapes in a barrel; on the left Libra as a pair of scales held by God's hand emerging from the sky.

10. Folio 5v, two small square miniatures (each 39mm. by 39mm.) for the month of October: on the right a man in a ploughed field sows seed from a turned-up corner of his tunic; on the left Scorpio as a large segmented insect with a pincered tail.

11. Folio 6r, two small square miniatures (each 39mm. by 39mm.) for the month of November: on the right a man with a stick and a pig in the forest hunting for acorns; on the left Sagitarrius as a Centaur with a bow and arrow.

12. Folio 6v, two small square miniatures (each 39mm. by 39mm.) for the month of December: on the right a man puts bread into an open oven while shielding his eyes from the heat with his free hand; on the left Capricorn as a long-horned white goat.

13. Folio 7r, three-quarter page miniature in arch-topped frame enclosing the evangelist John seated in a rocky landscape before hills and walled towns, with an open book and his symbol, the eagle.

14. Folio 8r, 9-line historiated initial 'M' in blue with white penwork on burnished gold ground, enclosing Luke at his writing desk before a rich tapestry and his symbol, the bull.

15. Folio 9r, 10-line historiated initial 'C' in blue with white penwork on burnished gold ground, enclosing Matthew in the act of writing as an angel shows him a written book.

16. Folio 10r, 10-line historiated initial 'I' in blue with white penwork on burnished gold ground, enclosing Mark seated and reading, before a rich tapestry and his symbol, the lion.

17. Folio 11r, 10-line historiated initial 'O' (opening Obsecro te) in blue with white penwork on burnished gold ground, enclosing half-length portrait of the Virgin with hands clasped in prayer.

18. Folio 13r, 10-line historiated initial 'O' (opening O intemerata) in blue with white penwork on burnished gold ground, enclosing half-length portrait of the Virgin, crowned, and holding the Christ child.

19. Folio 15r, three-quarter page miniature in arch-topped frame enclosing the Annunciation: an angel in pink cloak and with blue wings appearing before the Virgin who kneels before her prie dieu reading in her bower, as the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove descends from the upper left-hand corner.

20. Folio 22r, three-quarter page miniature in arch-topped frame enclosing the Garden of Gethsemane: Christ kneeling in the centre of the composition, surrounded by three sleeping followers, gazing at the chalice and an angel who descends carrying a cross.

21. Folio 30r, three-quarter page miniature in arch-topped frame enclosing the Kiss of Judas: Christ in the centre of the scene is seized by a soldier in elaborate Renaissance-style armour as Judas leans to kiss Christ's cheek, and Peter sheathes his sword having cut the ear from Malchus who kneels crying in pain in the foreground, all before an armed band.

22. Folio 30r, three-quarter page miniature in arch-topped frame enclosing the Virgin and followers kneeling in prayer in a Gothic interior as the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove descends through the window.

23. Folio 34v, three-quarter page miniature in arch-topped frame enclosing the Scourging of Christ: Christ, wearing only a loincloth and tied to a pole, is beaten by two torturers before an elaborate Gothic interior. Some minor damage in a small smudge to upper part of miniature, and some blue offset on leg of one of torturers.

24. Folio 37v, three-quarter page miniature in arch-topped frame enclosing Christ before Pilate: Christ stands before an armed throng as Pilate seated in a rich interior washes his hands in a bowl on his lap.

25, Folio 40v, three-quarter page miniature in arch-topped frame enclosing Christ, barefoot, carrying the Cross to Golgotha, followed by Mary Magdalene and Joseph of Arimathea, all before an armed throng.

26. Folio 43v, three-quarter page miniature in arch-topped frame enclosing the Crucifixion, with Christ on the cross, blood pouring from the wound in his side, flanked by the Virgin Mary and John the Evangelist, in a hilly landscape before Jerusalem.

27. Folio 49r, three-quarter page miniature in arch-topped frame enclosing the Descent from the Cross: a helper on a ladder tenderly lowers Christ's body to Mary Magdalene while Joseph of Arimathea looks on.

28. Folio 61r, three-quarter page miniature in arch-topped frame enclosing Bathsheba, here a young, naked woman with long flowing hair, washing in a stream, as King David, crowned, holding a sceptre and wearing an ermine collar, watches her from the window of a large turreted building to the right. Some minor damage in the form of a small dab of navy-blue paint in sky above Bathsheba, and a small fleck of paint missing from his ermine collar.

29. Folio 72r, three-quarter page miniature in arch-topped frame enclosing Job in the Dungheap: Job naked but in good health, hands clasped in prayer in a heap of hay, before two of his friends who try to persuade him to give up to give up his faith, all before a grassy landscape with bushes and a ruined building. Small dab of navy-blue paint on cheek of one of the friends.

30. Folio 93r, small miniature (41mm. by 41mm.), enclosing full-length seated portrait of God the father in majesty holding Christ on the cross as Holy Spirit descends towards him.

31. Folio 93v, small miniature (46mm. by 39mm.), enclosing three-quarter length portrait of St. Michael holding a pair of scales and his sceptre, a brown devil in the foreground.

32. Folio 94r, small miniature (43mm. by 39mm.), enclosing John the Baptist holding an open book on which a lamb is resting.

33. Folio 94v, small miniature (44mm. by 40mm.), enclosing SS. Peter and Paul with their emblems of key and sword.

34. Folio 95r, small miniature (40mm. by 42mm.), enclosing St. Nicolas and the three boys, naked in a tub, which he restored to life.

35. Folio 96v, small miniature (40mm. by 40mm.), enclosing Mary Magdalene seated with an open book, with her vessel of ointment next to her on a rock.

36. Folio 97r, small miniature (42mm. by 40mm.), enclosing St Catherine, crowned and holding pieces of the wheel on which she was crucified.

37. Folio 97v, small miniature (42mm. by 42mm.), enclosing St. Barbara with book and palm of martyrdom before a tower.

39. Folio 100r, added leaf from another manuscript with a small miniature (95mm. by 42mm.) enclosing Mary Magdalene weeping at the tomb of Christ (here as an elaborate stone sarcophagus) while three soldiers (one dressed as a Jew in a red hat and furs) lie sleeping.