The Coronation of the Virgin, illuminated miniature from a manuscript choirbook on vellum

a cutting, 150 mm. by 117 mm., the centre cut from an initial of oval shape (possibly "O prima virgo", first hymn at the Assumption of the Virgin, 15 August), Christ on the right turning to the Virgin seated beside him on an ornamental bench and placing a crown on her head as she leans towards him in prayer, an arc of gold behind their heads, a host of seraphim around it in delicate liquid gold on a blue ground, part of 5 lines of text on verso in a large rounded gothic hand, corners cut away to form an irregular hexagon, in a wooden frame incorporating carved architectural panels in a sixteenth-century style from an older frame

From the collection of Henry Vaughan (1809-1899), art collector and benefactor, founding member of the Burlington Fine Arts Club (he gave Constable's The Haywain to the National Gallery, Michelangelo drawings to the British Museum, and major Turner watercolours to the National Galleries of Scotland and Ireland).  It was exhibited from his collection, Illuminated Manuscripts, Burlington Fine Arts Club, London, 1874, p. 38 , no. 36.  It later belonged to Henry Harris; his sale in these rooms, 17 July 1950, lot 6.

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."

The picture is formed of an extraordinary sweep of startling colour and shimmering drapery.  It is in the style of the Olivetan Master, now identified as Girolamo da Milano, and it may be by his collaborator known as the Master of the Lodi Choir Books (cf. the sale in these rooms, 14 July 1981, lot 31, and M. Bollati, The Olivetan Gradual, Its Place in Fifteenth-Century Lombard Manuscript Illumination, 2008, pp. 38-9).  A miniature with an identical composition, even to the smallest detail of the fall of the drapery, but with different colours, belonged to the late Sir John Pope-Hennessy, attributed to the Master of the Franciscan Breviary (BEL, Medieval Miniatures, 1996, pp. 34-35, no. 12, and picture on front cover; afterwards F. G. Zeileis, 'Più ridon le carte', Buchmalerei aus Mittelalter und Renaissance, I, 2001, pp. 250-51, no. 92, where it is said to be derived from the Coronation of the Virgin in Cardinal Bessarion's Psalter, B.L., Add MS 60630).