Sts Peter and Paul, historiated initial on a leaf from a Choirbook, in Latin [Italy, 15th/16th and 17th/18th centuries]

single leaf, 550x380mm, vellum, 5 lines of text and music, apparently 15th/16th century, 405x240mm, rastrum c.43mm, the initial and most of the first 4 lines of text and music erased and replaced in the 17th/18th century, the new text STENCILLED, and with a new historiated initial 'T' at the beginning of the main antiphon for the feast of Sts Peter & Paul 'Tu es pastor ovium', stencilled folio number '169'

This is a rare example of two very different book-making technologies used on a single page. Stencils were occasionally used to produce liturgical manuscripts from the 17th to the 19th centuries, mainly in Spain, Italy, and other countries where Catholicism was strongest.