Three miniatures from a Book of Hours, illuminated manuscript on vellum [northern France (probably Rouen), c.1500]

two bifolia and a single leaf, each leaf approximately 175mm. by 128mm., with three large arch-topped miniatures: (a) the Coronation of the Virgin by God enthroned and wearing the papal three-tiered crown, (b) Pentecost, with the Virgin surrounded by followers as the dove descends, and (c) David and Goliath as the stone hits Goliath's forehead and he sinks to the ground, Goliath in decorative golden armour, each above a coloured initial enclosing foliage sprays on gold grounds and 3 lines of text, all within full borders of acanthus-leaves and other foliage on various shapes (some blank vellum, some dull gold), one and 2-line initials in burnished gold on coloured grounds with line-fillers to match, very slight smudges and discolouration to edges of leaves, else excellent condition

These leaves are fine examples of the artistic output of Rouen at its most productive period. The jewel-filled borders around each miniature are an unusual feature and are so strikingly similar to frames of portable devotional panels as seen in late medieval Rouen art (cf. the Petrarch, Les Remèdes de l'une et l'autre fortune, BnF.fr.225, fols.39v and 55r, reproduced in Ritter and Lafond, Manuscrits à peintures de l'école de Rouen, 1913, pls.19-20), that the artist here may have been intentionally evoking such objects, making the miniatures appear to be tiny devotional paintings laid upon the page. The miniature of David and Goliath is copied closely from a woodcut first used by Du Pré in his printed Book of Hours of 1490 (British Library, IA 39829).