Two leaves from a Book of Hours, in Latin [France (Paris), c.1400–10]

two leaves, each c.165x110mm, vellum, 14 lines (c.95x55mm), containing (a) from Psalm 123:7 to the end of Ps.124, followed by the antiphon ‘Post partum’ (probably from Sext in the Hours of the Virgin, and consistent with the Use of Paris), darkened along the top edge, and (b) Isaiah 38:12–18 (i.e. part of the Canticle of Isaiah, ‘Ego dixi’), perhaps from Lauds in the Hours of the Virgin, with slight smudges in the margins

 

Reiss & Sohn, 15 April 2006, lot 671, bought by the present owner.

These leaves have unusually fine filigree penwork, and are so closely comparable to the Très Belles Heues de Jean de Berry, also known as the Brussels Hours (Brussels, Bibliothèque Royale, ms.11960–61), that they are likely to be the work of the same decorator. Each leaf also includes fleurs-de-lys in the line-fillers. The parent manuscript is as yet unidentified, but was broken up no later than 2003, when leaves were on the market.