St. Michael fighting the Dragon, from an illuminated Gradual, in Latin, on vellum [southern Germany (most probably Augsburg), c.1490]

a cutting, 144mm. by 135mm., with a large initial ‘B’ (probably opening “Benedicite Domino omnes angeli ejus ...”, the introit for the feast of Michaelmas, ie. the dedication of St. Michael the Archangel, 29 September), in blue formed of scrolling acanthus leaves on a brightly burnished gold ground within an illusionistic green and white frame, enclosing the elegant and calm figure of St. Michael standing on a writhing demon with a hairy mane, long tusk-like fangs and bulging eyes, as he thrusts his spear into its open mouth, the back with two lines of text with music on a 4-line red stave, rastrum: 37mm., early twentieth-century pink sticker with “Ball Collection 18” on back, trimmed to edges of initial, small pin holes at top (perhaps from earlier framing), slight scuffs in places, else excellent condition

This impressive cutting with St. Michael slaying the Dragon closely follows the model of the celebrated painter and engraver Martin Schongauer, a leading figure  in the art of the late Middle Ages north of the Alps, who acquired during his own lifetime an influence that went far beyond the limits of the Rhine Valley. He revitalized German painting through an assimilation of Netherlandish art and a sense of local tradition and succeeded in combining precision and assurance of line with a strong sense of volume. It is doubtless due to his engravings, which were widely disseminated at an early date, that Schongauer was so influential during his lifetime. His engraving with St. Michael dates from 1477/78 (Bartsch 58; Lehrs 63). The style of the miniature, in particular the illusionistic frame, points to Augsburg, one of the most important centres of book illumination in southern Germany.