A dragon and a seated beardless man with a scroll, inhabited and historiated initials on a leaf from an early and lavishly illuminated Psalter-Hours, in Latin [northern France?, c.1250]

single leaf, c.178x134mm, vellum, 20 lines, c.150x89mm, consisting of Psalms 9:35–11:5, the start of Psalms 10 and 11 with a LARGE INHABITED and a LARGE HISTORIATED INITIAL, some LINE-FILLERS WITH ANIMALS, foliated ‘53’ (for f.54, with the initials to Psalms 12–13 see J.M. Plotzek, Andachtsbücher des Mittelalters aus Privatsbesitz, no.8), the edges cropped, affecting the illumination on the recto, the extreme inner corners lacking

Acquired by the present owner from Quaritch 2002.

This and the following two lots come from a well-known Psalter-Hours made for a nun at an undetermined location, perhaps near the border of northern France and the southern Netherlands, in the mid-13th century. The presence of historiated initials to almost every psalm, and the line-fillers, are exceptional. A list of more than 40 leaves is provided in the online description of the leaf sold in our rooms, 7 July 2015, lot 13.

From the same manuscript as the following two lots.