.jpg?w=1)
Details
BOOK OF HOURS, use of Sarum, in Latin, ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM
[England, late 14th century]
262 x 187mm. 55 leaves: 16, 27(of 8, lacking vii), 38, 47(of 8, lacking iv), 54(of 8, lacking ii, iv, v, vii), 67(of 8, lacking vii), 7-88, lacking whole gatherings after gatherings 4, 5 and 8, a fragment, 19 lines written in dark brown ink in two sizes of gothic bookhand between two verticals and 20 horizontals ruled in brown, justification: 175 x 110mm, rubrics in red, text capitals touched red, one- and two-line initials alternately of red flourished pink or blue flourished red, calendar in red, blue and brown, THREE LARGE HISTORIATED INITIALS, accompanied by bar borders in burnished gold, blue and pink with leafy extensions and ornament, remains of similar borders on three other defective leaves (lacking all other illumination and an undetermined number of text leaves, upper portion of f.7 torn away and blank lower margins cut from two further leaves, torn stubs from two of the removed leaves, rubbed and stained). Disbound, preserving remnants of medieval thongs and sewing; brown morocco box gilt.
PROVENANCE:
1. Willyley family: deaths of Katherine recorded 9 August, Roger 5 October (erased), William 12 October (erased)
2. Parleur or Parlour family: deaths of Richard recorded 7 August, John 12 August, William 2 September (all erased)
3. Contemporary note on f.5 recording the beginning of the reign of King Henry VI, 1 September 1422
4. Egge family; annotations in margins, including marriage of Richard in 1497 (f.2v), and births of six of his sons, including Thomas, Roger, Adam and two Johns, between 1498 and 1507 (ff.4-6)
5. Contemporary notes recording the birth of King Edward VI in 1537 (f.5v), and the beginning of his reign in 1547 (f.1v)
6. Corbet family: birth of Roger Corbet, son of Hugh, recorded in 1539 (f.6)
7. Thornes family: birth of Dorothy, daughter of Nicolas Thornes, recorded in March of the eighth year of Queen Elizabeth [1566] (f.8)
8. Warde family: birth of Roger recorded in 1590 (f.6v); the birth and baptism of his son Richard recorded in December 1608/January 1609 (f.8)
CONTENT:
Calendar, complete, feasts include translation of St Frideswide (February 12), Cedd (added, March 2), Cuthbert (March 18), Elphege (April 19), Dunstan (May 19), Alban (red, June 22), Etheldreda (June 23), Translation of Thomas Becket (blue, July 7), Mildred (July 13), Swithin (added, July 15), Kenelm (July 17), King Oswald (August 5), Translation of King Edward (October 13), Frideswide (October 19), Edmund Bishop of Canterbury (November 16), King Edmund (red, November 20), Thomas Becket (blue, December 29), each month accompanied by a sentence naming the temperament of a child born in that month, contemporary marginal notes on calendar calculations ff.1-6v; Office of the Virgin, fragmentary ff.7-33v; Litany and prayers, including Dunstan among the monks and hermits, and Milburga, Wereburga, Wenefreda and Edith among the virgins ff.34-39v; Office of the Dead, use of Sarum, lacking beginning and end ff.40-56v
ILLUMINATION:
This is the relic of a large and imposing Book of Hours. The surviving initials and borders are painted in a restricted range of colours -- pinks, blue and tan against a burnished gold ground -- that suggest a date no later than 1400: K. Scott, Later Gothic Manuscripts 1390-1490 (1996), p.47. The illumination is vigorous rather than polished, but the scenes from the Passion of Christ are rendered with immediacy and drama by emphasising gesture and expression to convey the interaction between characters.
The subjects of the historiated initials are:
f.22 Christ before Pilate
f.28v Way to Calvary
f.30v Crucifixion with the Virgin and John the Evangelist
[England, late 14th century]
262 x 187mm. 55 leaves: 1
PROVENANCE:
1. Willyley family: deaths of Katherine recorded 9 August, Roger 5 October (erased), William 12 October (erased)
2. Parleur or Parlour family: deaths of Richard recorded 7 August, John 12 August, William 2 September (all erased)
3. Contemporary note on f.5 recording the beginning of the reign of King Henry VI, 1 September 1422
4. Egge family; annotations in margins, including marriage of Richard in 1497 (f.2v), and births of six of his sons, including Thomas, Roger, Adam and two Johns, between 1498 and 1507 (ff.4-6)
5. Contemporary notes recording the birth of King Edward VI in 1537 (f.5v), and the beginning of his reign in 1547 (f.1v)
6. Corbet family: birth of Roger Corbet, son of Hugh, recorded in 1539 (f.6)
7. Thornes family: birth of Dorothy, daughter of Nicolas Thornes, recorded in March of the eighth year of Queen Elizabeth [1566] (f.8)
8. Warde family: birth of Roger recorded in 1590 (f.6v); the birth and baptism of his son Richard recorded in December 1608/January 1609 (f.8)
CONTENT:
Calendar, complete, feasts include translation of St Frideswide (February 12), Cedd (added, March 2), Cuthbert (March 18), Elphege (April 19), Dunstan (May 19), Alban (red, June 22), Etheldreda (June 23), Translation of Thomas Becket (blue, July 7), Mildred (July 13), Swithin (added, July 15), Kenelm (July 17), King Oswald (August 5), Translation of King Edward (October 13), Frideswide (October 19), Edmund Bishop of Canterbury (November 16), King Edmund (red, November 20), Thomas Becket (blue, December 29), each month accompanied by a sentence naming the temperament of a child born in that month, contemporary marginal notes on calendar calculations ff.1-6v; Office of the Virgin, fragmentary ff.7-33v; Litany and prayers, including Dunstan among the monks and hermits, and Milburga, Wereburga, Wenefreda and Edith among the virgins ff.34-39v; Office of the Dead, use of Sarum, lacking beginning and end ff.40-56v
ILLUMINATION:
This is the relic of a large and imposing Book of Hours. The surviving initials and borders are painted in a restricted range of colours -- pinks, blue and tan against a burnished gold ground -- that suggest a date no later than 1400: K. Scott, Later Gothic Manuscripts 1390-1490 (1996), p.47. The illumination is vigorous rather than polished, but the scenes from the Passion of Christ are rendered with immediacy and drama by emphasising gesture and expression to convey the interaction between characters.
The subjects of the historiated initials are:
f.22 Christ before Pilate
f.28v Way to Calvary
f.30v Crucifixion with the Virgin and John the Evangelist
Special notice
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.