Western Manuscripts S/O

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Lot 57
  • 57

Bible, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on vellum [Paris, early thirteenth century]

Estimate
3,000 - 5,000 GBP
bidding is closed

Description

  • Vellum
a leaf, 217mm. by 144mm., double column, 55 lines, small formal early gothic textura (littera textualis formata), capitula to Joshua (from xxv) and Joshua 1:1-4:21, a few one-line initials in red or blue, marginal capitula numbers and running-titles in red and blue capitals, historiated initial, 6-line, showing God speaking to Joshua, in colours on a burnished gold ground (slightly flaked), generally excellent, hessian binding  

Provenance

provenance

From the Bible which belonged to Alfred Henry Huth (1850-1910; his sale in our rooms, 15 November 1911, lot 645); C.H. St John Hornby (1867–1946); bequeathed to Sir Sydney Cockerell (1867-1962; de Hamel, British Library Journal, 13, 1987, no.113); sold in 1957 to Quaritch; Arthur Haddaway (1902-1981; Gothic and Renaissance Illuminated Manuscripts, Austin, Texas, 1971, no.1; his sale, Christie's New York, 25 September 1981, lot 2); the first manuscript broken up by Bruce Ferrini (1949-2010); this leaf consigned by him to sale in our rooms, 17 December 1991, lot 11a; Schøyen MS 1564.

Catalogue Note

text

The manuscript belongs to the first generation of Parisian Bibles, with illumination in the style of the great royal Bibles moralisées. The leaf here shows the archaic capitula lists and the chapter numbering which preceded that commonly ascribed to Stephen Langton (d.1228).