Sts Peter and Paul, miniature on a leaf from a Book of Hours, Use of Beauvais, in Latin and French [France (Amiens and Rouen), c.1430]

single leaf, 196x138mm, vellum, with a miniature for the complete suffrage to Sts Peter and Paul, 18 lines, 113×67mm, verso with foliage in outer margin, in good 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."

(1) The origin of the parent manuscript has been the cause of much discussion. One of the four artists (responsible for the present miniature) was associated with the Master of Raoul d’Ailly by Susie Nash and attributed to Amiens (Between France and Flanders, 1999, pp.168-9, 323-26, figs.111-12, 114-16). Erik Drigsdahl, who undertook the most detailed study of the manuscript, noted that the Office of the Dead (a quire of which was sold in our rooms, 17 June 2003, lot 58a) and calendar are of the Use of Beauvais. These and other textual peculiarities, including the presence of long extracts from the Beauvais Missal, suggest to him that it was written for a wealthy high ranking cleric, perhaps Pierre Cauchon (d.1442), bishop of Beauvais from 1420 to 1432 (infamous in the trial against Joan of Arc, ‘la Pucelle’), who was at the time residing in his hôtel in Rouen, where, he proposes, the book was written and illuminated.

(2) Oswald Joseph Swinburne (1902-47), garage owner of Scarborough; sold in our rooms (with his 14th-century Book of Hours and 13th-century Bible), 9 February 1948, lot 225.

(3) Mrs A. Manning; sold in our rooms, 14 July 1981, lot 118 (with three plates, including the present miniature), bought by ‘White’; broken up by 2002: three miniatures were Christie’s,  20 November 2002, lot 10; miniatures and text leaves were Maggs, Illuminations, Cat.1340 [2003], nos.9-12, and European Bulletin 26, Cat.1432, 2008, no.21; two more miniatures were sold in our rooms, 17 June 2003, lots 60-61; and so on. Three more leaves comprise the next lot.