.jpg?w=1)
Details
BOOK OF HOURS, use of Paris, in Latin and French , ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM
[Paris, c.1460, with two gatherings French, c.1400]
111 x 82mm. iv + 230 + iv leaves (modern foliation includes ff.115bis, 118bis and 222bis): 112, 2-138, 147(of 8, viii cancelled blank), 15-218, 228(f.174 a 16th-century replacement), 238, 248(f.189 a 16th-century replacement), 256, 268, 277(of 8 lacking i with miniature on verso), 2810(of 8, c.1400, + viii/ix contemporary with body of book), 294(c.1400), 14 lines written in black ink in a formal gothic bookhand between two verticals and 15 horizontals ruled in pink, justification 63 x 40mm, rubrics in red, text capitals touched yellow, one- and two-line initials in burnished gold on divided grounds of blue and pink patterned with white, similar line-endings, three-line initials with staves of blue or pink patterned with white on grounds of burnished gold with foliate or flower infills, every page with a two-line initial with a border in the outer side margin of hairline tendrils with burnished gold leaves and disks and small painted flowers in pink, blue and green, two similar three-sided borders with bars of burnished gold, THIRTEEN LARGE ARCH-TOPPED MINIATURES with bars of burnished gold and full-page borders of sprays of fruit, flowers and acanthus in blue, green, red and liquid gold interspersed with burnished gold disks, one incorporating birds; c.1400 section, ff.215-227, 12 lines written in black ink in a formal gothic bookhand, between two verticals and 13 horizontals ruled in grey, one- and two-line initials as above, the larger initials with hairline tendrils with red and blue terminals, two four-line initials with staves in pink or blue on grounds of the contrasting colour with foliate infills on burnished gold with bar borders with vine stems in burnished gold, red, blue and white (lacking one leaf with miniature, all miniatures and many borders with some degree of wear). Brown morocco by Maltby of Oxford.
PROVENANCE:
1. The content and style of illumination show that the book was made in Paris; prayers are in the masculine.
2. James P.R. Lyell (1871-1949): leather bookplate inside upper cover; B.D.V. 27/11/37 pencilled on fourth added leaf at front probably records his purchase. Lyell bequeathed to the Bodleian Library the choice of 100 manuscripts from his collection of about 250 acquired between 1936 and 1942. The bulk of the remainder were sold to Quaritch.
3. Gordon H. Craine: bookplate on first added leaf, note of purchase 1954, cutting from Quaritch catalogue 699, 1952, no.77, pasted-in.
CONTENT:
Parisian Calendar, with St Genevieve in red 3 January, ff.1-12; Gospel extracts ff.13-20; Obsecro te ff.20-25v; O intemerata ff.25v-28; Office of the Virgin, use of Paris, ff.29-115v: matins f.29, lauds f.59v, prime f.74v, terce f.82v, sext f.88v, none f.94, vespers f.99v, compline f.108v; Penitential Psalms ff.115bis-131; Litany ff.131-136; Hours of the Cross ff.136v-140v; Hours of the Holy Spirit ff.141-144v; Office of the Dead, use of Paris, lacking end (ff.174 and 189 16th-century replacements) ff.145-207v; Fifteen Joys of the Virgin, lacking opening ff.208-214v; Fifteen Joys of the Virgin (reused section of c.1400) ff.215-221v; Seven Requests to Our Lord (reused section of c.1400 except for inserted bifolium 222/222bis) ff.221-227.
ILLUMINATION:
Although worn, these fine miniatures show all the characteristics that made the Master of Jean Rolin II the leading illuminator in Paris in the two decades from about 1445. The pose of the Virgin relates the Crucifixion in this manuscript to the much larger and more crowded composition in one of the Master's name works, the Missal of Jean Rolin II in Lyons (Bib. municipale, Ms 517; see. F. Avril and N. Reynaud, Les manuscrits à peintures en France, Paris, 1993, pp.38-45). Other compositions are the result of the close collaboration between him and the Dunois Master, the inheritor of the patterns of the Bedford Master. Although the painted surface of each miniature in this Hours measures only 55 x 38mm, the complex scenes have detailed architectural and landscape settings and precisely depicted figures, up to eleven in one miniature. Despite their small size, their mood is conveyed by gesture and posture: the carefree shepherdess, busy with her spinning, for instance, can be contrasted with the anxious Apostles round the Virgin's deathbed.
The borders, especially the small birds, are typical of those found with miniatures by the Master of Jean Rolin II, as in the Breviary illuminated for Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy (Vienna, ÖNB, cod. S.n.12735, O. Pächt and D. Thoss, Französische Schule I, Vienna, 1974, Abb.356-365). They show the same meticulous planning and craftsmanship as the rest of the manuscript, which was apparently specially made to incorporate the earlier fragment with the Fifteen Joys and the Seven Requests. These were presumably the remains of a much treasured volume, since economy was clearly not a motive: the two prayers were repeated in whole or in part so that miniatures could be added for them. The preface to the Fifteen Joys specifies kneeling fifteen times before an image of the Virgin, demonstrating the way that miniatures could form an integral part of the devotional exercises prompted by a Book of Hours.
The subjects of the miniatures are as follows:
f.29 Annunciation
f.59v Visitation
f.74v Nativity
f.82v Annunciation to the Shepherds
f.88v Adoration of the Magi
f.94 Presentation in the Temple
f.99v Flight into Egypt
f.108v Death of the Virgin
f.115bis The Last Judgement
f.136v Crucifixion
f.141 Pentecost
f.145 A corpse being laid out for burial
f.222 God the Son enthroned at the right hand of God the Father
[Paris, c.1460, with two gatherings French, c.1400]
111 x 82mm. iv + 230 + iv leaves (modern foliation includes ff.115bis, 118bis and 222bis): 112, 2-138, 147(of 8, viii cancelled blank), 15-218, 228(f.174 a 16th-century replacement), 238, 248(f.189 a 16th-century replacement), 256, 268, 277(of 8 lacking i with miniature on verso), 2810(of 8, c.1400, + viii/ix contemporary with body of book), 294(c.1400), 14 lines written in black ink in a formal gothic bookhand between two verticals and 15 horizontals ruled in pink, justification 63 x 40mm, rubrics in red, text capitals touched yellow, one- and two-line initials in burnished gold on divided grounds of blue and pink patterned with white, similar line-endings, three-line initials with staves of blue or pink patterned with white on grounds of burnished gold with foliate or flower infills, every page with a two-line initial with a border in the outer side margin of hairline tendrils with burnished gold leaves and disks and small painted flowers in pink, blue and green, two similar three-sided borders with bars of burnished gold, THIRTEEN LARGE ARCH-TOPPED MINIATURES with bars of burnished gold and full-page borders of sprays of fruit, flowers and acanthus in blue, green, red and liquid gold interspersed with burnished gold disks, one incorporating birds; c.1400 section, ff.215-227, 12 lines written in black ink in a formal gothic bookhand, between two verticals and 13 horizontals ruled in grey, one- and two-line initials as above, the larger initials with hairline tendrils with red and blue terminals, two four-line initials with staves in pink or blue on grounds of the contrasting colour with foliate infills on burnished gold with bar borders with vine stems in burnished gold, red, blue and white (lacking one leaf with miniature, all miniatures and many borders with some degree of wear). Brown morocco by Maltby of Oxford.
PROVENANCE:
1. The content and style of illumination show that the book was made in Paris; prayers are in the masculine.
2. James P.R. Lyell (1871-1949): leather bookplate inside upper cover; B.D.V. 27/11/37 pencilled on fourth added leaf at front probably records his purchase. Lyell bequeathed to the Bodleian Library the choice of 100 manuscripts from his collection of about 250 acquired between 1936 and 1942. The bulk of the remainder were sold to Quaritch.
3. Gordon H. Craine: bookplate on first added leaf, note of purchase 1954, cutting from Quaritch catalogue 699, 1952, no.77, pasted-in.
CONTENT:
Parisian Calendar, with St Genevieve in red 3 January, ff.1-12; Gospel extracts ff.13-20; Obsecro te ff.20-25v; O intemerata ff.25v-28; Office of the Virgin, use of Paris, ff.29-115v: matins f.29, lauds f.59v, prime f.74v, terce f.82v, sext f.88v, none f.94, vespers f.99v, compline f.108v; Penitential Psalms ff.115bis-131; Litany ff.131-136; Hours of the Cross ff.136v-140v; Hours of the Holy Spirit ff.141-144v; Office of the Dead, use of Paris, lacking end (ff.174 and 189 16th-century replacements) ff.145-207v; Fifteen Joys of the Virgin, lacking opening ff.208-214v; Fifteen Joys of the Virgin (reused section of c.1400) ff.215-221v; Seven Requests to Our Lord (reused section of c.1400 except for inserted bifolium 222/222bis) ff.221-227.
ILLUMINATION:
Although worn, these fine miniatures show all the characteristics that made the Master of Jean Rolin II the leading illuminator in Paris in the two decades from about 1445. The pose of the Virgin relates the Crucifixion in this manuscript to the much larger and more crowded composition in one of the Master's name works, the Missal of Jean Rolin II in Lyons (Bib. municipale, Ms 517; see. F. Avril and N. Reynaud, Les manuscrits à peintures en France, Paris, 1993, pp.38-45). Other compositions are the result of the close collaboration between him and the Dunois Master, the inheritor of the patterns of the Bedford Master. Although the painted surface of each miniature in this Hours measures only 55 x 38mm, the complex scenes have detailed architectural and landscape settings and precisely depicted figures, up to eleven in one miniature. Despite their small size, their mood is conveyed by gesture and posture: the carefree shepherdess, busy with her spinning, for instance, can be contrasted with the anxious Apostles round the Virgin's deathbed.
The borders, especially the small birds, are typical of those found with miniatures by the Master of Jean Rolin II, as in the Breviary illuminated for Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy (Vienna, ÖNB, cod. S.n.12735, O. Pächt and D. Thoss, Französische Schule I, Vienna, 1974, Abb.356-365). They show the same meticulous planning and craftsmanship as the rest of the manuscript, which was apparently specially made to incorporate the earlier fragment with the Fifteen Joys and the Seven Requests. These were presumably the remains of a much treasured volume, since economy was clearly not a motive: the two prayers were repeated in whole or in part so that miniatures could be added for them. The preface to the Fifteen Joys specifies kneeling fifteen times before an image of the Virgin, demonstrating the way that miniatures could form an integral part of the devotional exercises prompted by a Book of Hours.
The subjects of the miniatures are as follows:
f.29 Annunciation
f.59v Visitation
f.74v Nativity
f.82v Annunciation to the Shepherds
f.88v Adoration of the Magi
f.94 Presentation in the Temple
f.99v Flight into Egypt
f.108v Death of the Virgin
f.115bis The Last Judgement
f.136v Crucifixion
f.141 Pentecost
f.145 A corpse being laid out for burial
f.222 God the Son enthroned at the right hand of God the Father
Special notice
This lot will not be subject to VAT either on the hammer price or the buyer's premium.