Gradual, in Latin [Italy (Siena), c.1280]

530x370mm, vellum, 180 leaves, original foliation running from f.I-CCIIII (the first leaf foliated I on recto and II on verso) preceded by 2 unfoliated leaves (lacking ff.14-19, 24, 35, 42, 75, 84, 99, 103, 108, 125-135), 6 lines of text and music on four-line red staves, rastrum 33mm, 1 full-page and 52 large illuminated initials formed of soft pink, olive green and red acanthus leaves, partly including biting dragon heads, mostly on deep blue grounds, including areas of burnished gold with fine pouncing, terminating in bulbous leaves, smaller initials with excellent flourishing throughout; music and text on some leaves erased and rewritten and decorated with crude initials, presumably in the 18th century (ff.53, 56r, 94v, 95r, 101r-102r, 120r-122r, 138r-144v, 161v-165r, 173r-174r, 178r-182v, 194r-204v), another 7 leaves added at the same time (ff.205-212, skips f.207), initials mostly in very good condition, that on f.193v smudged, the leaves worn from use and occasionally repaired, bound in original brown leather over wood boards with metal bosses and corner pieces, remnants of straps, the letters 'IXB' and the date '1755' incised on lower cover

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."

A magnificent long lost Gradual illuminated by Rinaldo da Siena, previously known only by a few leaves

provenance

(1) The luxurious Gradual, one of the key works of early Sienese manuscript illumination, may have been made for the Convent of San Francesco which was erected in the mid-13th century.

(2) Private collection, Switzerland.

text and illumination

'Asperges me' (f.1r); Temporale, from Advent to the Sunday after Epiphany (f.4r); Sanctorale, from St Andrew (30 November) to All Saints (1 November) (f.47r); Common of Saints, from martyrs to virgins (f.97v); Dedication of a church (f.168r); Settings of the Kyrie (f.170v); added feasts (f.182r).

Rinaldo da Siena is a forerunner of Duccio, founder of the Sienese school of Trecento painting.  Documented in Siena in 1274 and 1278, Rinaldo was previously known as the Maestro delle Clarisse, who executed a panel painting for the Sienese convent of St Clare. He was identified by Luciano Bellosi as Rinaldo da Siena, painter of the Biccherna panel of 1278 in the Berlin Gemäldegalerie (‘Per un contesto cimabuesco senese’, Prospettiva, 62, 1991, p.15). The corpus of the artist’s known work is small. Only five panel paintings and even fewer manuscripts have been recognised to be by his hand. His work as an illuminator (see La Miniatura Senese, 2002, esp.pp.260-61 and col.pls.12-13) includes a lavishly illuminated Libro del regimento dei prencipi by Giles of Rome in the Bibliothèque nationale in Paris (ital.233) and Vegezio's Mulomedicina, a guide to veterinary medicine (Florence, Biblioteca Laurenziana, MS Plut. 45.19). Before the appearance of this manuscript, two leaves with historiated initials from a Gradual of unknown whereabouts had been recorded: Folio ‘LXXV’ depicting St Anthony (Milan, priv.coll.), and folio ‘CIII’ illustrating the Stigmatization of St Francis (J. Paul Getty Museum, MS 71; previously J. Günther, Miniatures and Illuminated Leaves, 2002, no.11). The parent volume is without question the present manuscript. The single leaves and the manuscript match in terms of dimensions, script, musical notation, and artistic style. The original foliation in the margins (always on the verso) leaves no doubt about the specific position of the detached leaves within the manuscript, and the catchwords ‘dent angeli’ on the verso of the Getty leaf correspond to the first words on recto in the manuscript. The Gradual opens with a grand decorated initial ‘A’ that fills the entire page, and 52 further initials decorate the volume throughout. Two more leaves with large decorated initials have come on the market, one sold at Koller, 18 March 2008, lot 3412 (f.LXXXXIX), and one sold in our rooms, 6 December 2011, lot 14 (f.CXXIX). The wealth of decoration in the Gradual is unparalleled in Rinaldo’s known work. For comparison, the manuscript in Paris (ital.233) has four historiated and seven decorated initials, and the one in Florence (MS Plut. 45.19) has three historiated and four decorated initials.