Lot 53
  • 53

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

Estimate
40,000 - 60,000 GBP
bidding is closed

Description

  • Vellum
196 leaves (4 blank), 88mm. by 62mm., complete, collation:, i6, ii-iii8 (gathering iii loose), iv7, v-vii8, viii-ix9, x-xi10, xii-xv8, xvi9, xvii-xx8, xxi-xxii9, xxiii6 (last 2 leaves blank and cancelled), singeltons mostly miniatures on added leaves of thicker vellum, vertical catchwords, written-space 48mm. by 32mm.,single column, 17 lines, written in dark brown ink in lettre bâtarde, rubrics in red, numerous 1- and 2-line initials in liquid gold on terracotta red grounds, twenty-four calendar miniatures of the zodiac signs and occupations, twelve full page arch-topped miniatures with borders of naturalistic flowers, fruit, butterflies and other insects on dull gold grounds, each facing a 6-line initial in white acanthus-leaves and full border, some minor thumbing to edge of leaves and trimming, else on very fine vellum, and in fresh and presentable condition, eighteenth-century gilt-tooled  with a frame of quadruple gilt fillets and a gilt coat of arms (quarterly with a tower and a crowned eagle divided in half; all surmounted by a crown), in slipcase and fitted case

Provenance

provenance

1. Written for a male patron in the southern Netherlands, c. 1500: Obsecro te  and O intemerata in masculine form;

2. Giuseppe Maurizio Turinetti, Conte di Pertengo, Piedmont (to whom F. Giambenedetto da Torino's Opera of 1766 is dedicated); acquired in Venice on 26 April 1747: his notes on endleaves

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

text

This manuscript contains a Calendar (fol.2v: with St. Eustachius, 29 March, indicating Utrecht; St. Eleutherius, 20 February, indicating Tournai); the Salve sancta facies (15r); Hours of the Cross (18r); Hours of the Holy Ghost (24r) Missa beate virginis (30r); Hours of the Virgin, with Matins (42r), Lauds (63r), Prime (76r), Terce (80r), Sext (85r), None (90r), Vespers (95r), Compline (103r); the Office of Mary (109r); Penitential Psalms (117r); Office of the Dead (139r); Obsecro te and O intemerata (175r); Psalter of Jerome (183r).

illumination

The miniatures are by an accomplished follower (or even perhaps a member of the workshop itself) of the Master of the First Prayerbook of Maximilian (see Kren &  McKendrick, Illuminating the Renaissance, 2003, pp. 316-29). He displays skill and subtlety in the portrait of Christ as salvator mundi, and while this is a stock scene in late fifteenth-century art, the wide brow, pursed lips, moustache starting either side of the philtrum, and calm dispassionate expression, is markedly close to known products of this workshop (see Kren & McKendrick, p. 325, for a reproduction of a very similar portrayal of God the father on a leaf from the Mayer van der Bergh Breviary, c. 1500; and p. 332 for Christ and the Samaritan woman as painted by Simon Marmion, but in collaboration with the Master of the First Prayer Book, c. 1500). He was clearly steeped in the artistic styles and models of Ghent/Bruges in the last decades of the fifteenth century, and the Flight into Egypt displays knowledge of the work of Simon Marmion in the Berlaymont Hours (Huntington Library, HM 1173), just as the scenes of the Annunciation and the Three Living and the Three Dead show the influence of the Master of Mary of Burgundy. The miniature dimensions of the volume may also suggest the influence of the last artist.

The miniatures include:

(1), folios 2v-14r, Calendar with twenty-four miniatures of the occupations of the months and the signs of the zodiac, as part of three-quarter borders containing naturalistic fruit, flowers and occasional insects, some small chips to paint, but with little overall damage

(2) folio 14v, Christ as salvator mundi, half-length portrait in arch-topped miniature, 55mm. high, on blue background with elaborate halo in single-lines of liquid gold, border with flowers, two butterflies and a fly, slight wear to edges and loss to halo, else good condition

(3) folio 17v, Crucifixion within arch-topped miniature, 53mm. high, border with flowers, fruit, various insects and a bird, slight thumbing to lower edges

(4) folio 23v, Pentecost with the Virgin seated reading surrounded by followers within an elegant gothic interior, within arch-topped miniature, 54mm. high, border with flowers, fruit, various insects and the Holy Spirit as a white dove, excellent condition

(5) folio 29v, Maria lactans, with the Virgin wearing a headband with pearls and facing right, gently supporting the Christ Child, within arch-topped miniature, 53mm. high, border with flowers, fruit, two flies, a caterpillar and a butterfly, excellent condition

(6) folio 41v, The Annunciation, with the Virgin seated reading before an angel in green robes as the Holy Spirit (in the form of a white dove) descends from above, within arch-topped miniature, 55mm. high, border with flowers, fruit, a fly and a peacock (border of facing page with similar and a portly monkey playing the bagpipes), slight cockling else excellent condition

(7) folio 62v, The Visitation with the Virgin and St Anne before a large striking flesh-pink castle, within arch-topped miniature, 53mm. high, border with flowers, fruit, two flies and a notably naturalistic dragonfly, excellent condition

(8) folio 75v, The Nativity, within arch-topped miniature, 54mm. high, border with flowers, fruit, various insects and a snail, slight rubbing to outer edges

(9) folio 79v, The Annunciation to the Shepherds before a medieval town and a delicately painted half-timbered farmhouse, within arch-topped miniature, 53mm. high, border with flowers and various insects, excellent condition

(10) folio 84v, The Adoration of the Magi, within arch-topped miniature, 53mm. high, border with flowers and various insects, excellent condition

(11) folio 89v, The Presentation in the Temple, with one of the attendants wearing a large pink headdress of the form worn by women in the Low Countries in the late Middle Ages, within arch-topped miniature, 53mm. high, border with flowers and various insects, excellent condition

(12) folio 94v, The Massacre of the Innocents, with Herod standing in rich robes and a crown with his soldiers looking at the corpses of infants on the ground, all before a medieval farm building with a half timbered annexe with a thatched roof, within arch-topped miniature, 53mm. high, border with flowers and various insects, excellent condition

(13) folio 102v, The Flight into Egypt, within arch-topped miniature, 53mm. high, border with flowers and various insects, slight thumbing to outer edge, else excellent condition

(14) folio 108v, The Coronation of the Virgin, with the Virgin seated between Christ and God the father as the Holy Spirit descends, within arch-topped miniature, 54mm. high, border with flowers and various insects, excellent condition

(15) folio 117v, David in Penitence, kneeling outside a medieval stone building, between his crown and harp, within arch-topped miniature, 55mm. high, border with flowers, various insects, and his less-common attribute of an owl, excellent condition

(16) folio 138v, The Legend of Three Living and the Three Dead, with three corpses dressed in shrouds and holding gold spears standing above three richly dressed men on horses, all before a large carved stone cross, within arch-topped miniature, 53mm. high, border with flowers and various insects, excellent condition

(17) folio 175r, an eight-line historiated initial 'O' (opening 'obsecro te ...'), enclosing the Virgin and Child, with a three quarter border with naturalistic flowers

(18) folio 182v, St. Jerome with his common-attribute the lion in penitential grey robes kneeling in front of a cross in the wilderness, exposing his chest to reveal a number of small wounds (perhaps from flagellation), within arch-topped miniature, 53mm. high, border with flowers and various insects, tiny chip of paint from face of Jerome, else excellent condition