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Two miniatures on cuttings from illuminated manuscripts on vellum
Estimate
3,000 - 5,000 GBP
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Description
two cuttings, (a) a large initial 'I' (probably opening 'Is[ta est spec]io[sa inter filias Ierusalem] ...' the Antiphon for the Common of Virgins), on a cutting from a choirbook, 200mm. by 78mm., formed of an architectural frame surmounted by acanthus leaves and bezants, enclosing a Virgin martyr in the act of martyrdom, kneeling with hands clasped together as her executioner raises his sword, all before a rocky landscape and blue sky heightened with long trailing white penwork tracery, remnants of 3 lines with 4-line red staves, expertly framed and in good condition, Italy, probably Umbria, c.1280; (b) an arch-topped miniature from a Book of Hours, 99mm. by 65mm., enclosing David in the act of slaying Goliath, sword in hand ready to decapitate the giant, all before a grassy landscape with a tent and a distant town, some minor damage to face of Goliath, 11 lines of text and 4 small initials on verso, southern Netherlands, c. 1480; both professionally framed
Catalogue Note
The long tendrils of white tracery which meander across the blue ground of the initial in item (a) reveal its probable origin in Umbria (cf. Dix Siècles d'Enluminure Italienne, 1984, p. 47). The scene itself is well accomplished, and the saint's expression of calm prayer in the face of death is excellently conveyed through the use of green brushstrokes and brown penwork to pick out detail on the pale white skin tone. The last quarter of the thirteenth century saw a sudden rush in the production of illuminated manuscripts in Umbria, notably (as with the present example) in liturgical service books, with the emergence of a distinctive Umbrian style around 1270-80.