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Details
BOOK OF HOURS, use of Rome, in Latin, ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM
[Bruges, 1455-60]
183 x 120mm. i + 147 leaves: 16, 26, 312, 411(i & vii inserted singletons and xi a singleton with text), 57(i inserted singleton), 68(of 10, lacking 2 leaves between ii and iii), 78, 83, 97(iii a singleton with text and v inserted singleton), 109(i a singleton with text), 119 (ii inserted singleton), 128, 139(i inserted singleton), 14-188, final four leaves of undetermined structure, all inserted singletons with full-page miniatures, 19 lines written in brown ink in a gothic bookhand between two verticals and 20 horizontals ruled in pink, justification: 111 x 69mm, rubrics in pink, text capitals touched yellow, one-line initials alternately of burnished gold flourished with blue and blue flourished with red, line-fillers of the same colours, two and three-line initials of burnished gold against grounds and infills of both pink and blue with white tracery and marginal sprays of gold leaves and small pink and blue disks on hairline tendrils, three to five-line initials with monochrome patterned staves of blue against grounds of pink and burnished gold, the infills with tendrils of coloured trefoils or fleshy acanthus leaves against gold, each of these THIRTEEN LARGE ILLUMINATED INITIALS ACCOMPANIED BY FULL-PAGE BORDERS with tendrils of fleshy curling acanthus leaves of blue, pink, green and orange against grounds of burnished gold surrounded by hairline sprays with leaves, disks, flowerheads, birds and peacocks of colours and gold, similar borders on the facing pages surround the SIX FULL-PAGE MINIATURES within double-ruled frames in gold and pink, TWENTY-THREE SMALL MINIATURES each accompanied by a three-sided border (two leaves excised before f.44 and probably lacking inserted singletons before ff.44, 45, 57, 69, 72, 76, 85 and 111, some borders rubbed to lower margin, small losses to pigment and gold and some smudging throughout, tear to lower margin and corner of f.104 with loss of a couple of versal initials). 19th-century calf over boards, covers blind double-ruled to central panel of leafy tools within lozenges, spine in five compartments, gilt-numbered, marbled pastedowns and endleaves (slightly scuffed).
PROVENANCE:
1. In illumination, the present lot belongs with a group of manuscripts made in Bruges for the English market but its texts show that it was destined for a more local purchaser; prayers are in the masculine. Prayers in Dutch have been added in 15th- and 16th-century hands on the opening leaf and on the final blanks.
2. Annotations in French on ff.6v, 7 and 11v of the Calendar chart the surrender of rebel, and largely Calvinist, towns to Alessandro Farnese, prince of Parma (1545-1592), Governor of the Spanish Netherlands from 1578 to 1592. The records run from the fall of Tournai 30 November 1581 to that of Dixmuide 30 July 1583. Parma's campaigns in Flanders and Brabant, which culminated in the recapture of Antwerp in 1585, were crucial in returning the southern Netherlands to obedience to Philip II of Spain and to the Roman Catholic church.
3. A list of 15 masses, very profitable for the living and the dead, has been added in French in a 16th-century hand on ff.146v-147v; 16th-century signatures and inscriptions in French appear on f.30v, f.78v (Claude de ...), f.79 (lypequyn de bruselles), f.145v; ex libris of 1604 on f.1 with pencil note including the name of De Hoochstalen.
4. Albert George, 'demorant en la ville...': signature to Latin prayer in 18th-century hand, f.30v.
CONTENT:
Calendar ff.1-12v; Suffrages to Saints ff.13-23v: Peter f.13, Paul f.13v, Peter and Paul f.14, John the Evangelist f.14v, John the Baptist f.15, Andrew f.15v, Stephen f.16, Lawrence f.16v, Thomas f.17, Philip and Jacob f.17v, Bartholomew f.18, Anthony f.18v, Mary Magdalene f.19, Catherine f.19v, Margaret f.20, Barbara f.20v, Elizabeth f.21, Gertrude f.21v, Ursula f.22, and her 11,000 Virgins f.22v, Claire f.23, Helen f.23v; Five joys of the Virgin f.24; Hours of the Cross ff.26-30; Hours of the Holy Spirit ff.32-35v; ff.37-41v Mass of the Virgin ff.37-41v; Gospel extracts (lacking end) ff.41v-44v; ff.45-88 Office of the Virgin, use cf Rome, ff.45-94: matins f.45 (lacking opening), lauds f.57, prime f.66, terce f.69, sext f.72, none f.76, vespers f.80, compline f.85, variants f.88v; Penitential Psalms and Litany ff.95-110; Office of the Dead, use of Rome, ff.111-138; O intemerata ff.138-140; Obsecro te ff.140-142v.
ILLUMINATION:
This Book of Hours resembles in its rich decoration a distinctive group of manuscripts made in Bruges for the English market, including the Berland Hours (sold Christie's, New York, 8 October 2001, lot 65), the Book of Hours of Edward, Lord North (London, BL, Harley Ms 3000) and the De Grey Hours (Aberystwyth, NLW, Ms 15537 C). Their lush borders, with curling acanthus fronds imitating contemporary English illumination, and their miniatures, peopled by demure figures with downcast eyes, are hallmarks of the Mildmay Master, named from his work in a Book of Hours in Chicago (Newberry Library, Ms 35), see N. Rogers, Books of Hours in the Low Countries for the English market in the 15th century (M. Litt. dissertation, Univ. of Cambridge, 1982). The Mildmay Master also worked for the home market: in addition to the present lot, he was responsible for the Breviary made for Adolph of Cleves, nephew of Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy, who made his career at the Burgundian court (Brussels, KBR, Ms II 5646), see B. Bousmanne, "Item a Guillaume Wyelant aussi enluminer", 1997, pp.322 and 236-237. The Master's debt to Willem Vrelant, one of the illuminators most favoured by Philip the Good, is obvious in his clarity of design and in his figures with their generalized, attractive faces.
Produced in the ambit of the Burgundian court, this Book of Hours then documented the disintegration of the Burgundian inheritance. The additions to the Calendar saluting Parma's successes of the 1580s mark a pivotal moment in the events that reclaimed the southern Netherlands for Spain and Catholicism and restricted the rebels to what would become the independent Protestant north.
The subjects of the full-page miniatures are as follows:
f.25v: eight-part miniature depicting Betrayal, Christ mocked, Christ before Pilate, Flagellation, Christ carrying the Cross, Crucifixion, Deposition and Entombment
f.31v Pentecost
f.36v Coronation of the Virgin
f.65v Nativity
f.79v Massacre of the Innocents
f.95v Last Judgement
The small miniatures are as follows: f.13 St Peter, f.13v Paul, f.14 Peter and Paul, f.14v John the Evangelist, f.15 John the Baptist, f.15v Andrew, f.16 Stephen, f.16v Lawrence, f.17 Thomas, f.17v Philip and Jacob, f.18 Bartholomew, f.18v Anthony, f.19 Mary Magdalene, f.19v Catherine, f.20 Margaret, f.20v Barbara, f.21 Elizabeth, f.21v Gertrude, f.22 Ursula, f.22v Ursula sheltering some of the 11,000 virgins; f.23 Claire, f.23v Helen, f.24 Virgin and Child in Glory between two angels.
[Bruges, 1455-60]
183 x 120mm. i + 147 leaves: 1
PROVENANCE:
1. In illumination, the present lot belongs with a group of manuscripts made in Bruges for the English market but its texts show that it was destined for a more local purchaser; prayers are in the masculine. Prayers in Dutch have been added in 15th- and 16th-century hands on the opening leaf and on the final blanks.
2. Annotations in French on ff.6v, 7 and 11v of the Calendar chart the surrender of rebel, and largely Calvinist, towns to Alessandro Farnese, prince of Parma (1545-1592), Governor of the Spanish Netherlands from 1578 to 1592. The records run from the fall of Tournai 30 November 1581 to that of Dixmuide 30 July 1583. Parma's campaigns in Flanders and Brabant, which culminated in the recapture of Antwerp in 1585, were crucial in returning the southern Netherlands to obedience to Philip II of Spain and to the Roman Catholic church.
3. A list of 15 masses, very profitable for the living and the dead, has been added in French in a 16th-century hand on ff.146v-147v; 16th-century signatures and inscriptions in French appear on f.30v, f.78v (Claude de ...), f.79 (lypequyn de bruselles), f.145v; ex libris of 1604 on f.1 with pencil note including the name of De Hoochstalen.
4. Albert George, 'demorant en la ville...': signature to Latin prayer in 18th-century hand, f.30v.
CONTENT:
Calendar ff.1-12v; Suffrages to Saints ff.13-23v: Peter f.13, Paul f.13v, Peter and Paul f.14, John the Evangelist f.14v, John the Baptist f.15, Andrew f.15v, Stephen f.16, Lawrence f.16v, Thomas f.17, Philip and Jacob f.17v, Bartholomew f.18, Anthony f.18v, Mary Magdalene f.19, Catherine f.19v, Margaret f.20, Barbara f.20v, Elizabeth f.21, Gertrude f.21v, Ursula f.22, and her 11,000 Virgins f.22v, Claire f.23, Helen f.23v; Five joys of the Virgin f.24; Hours of the Cross ff.26-30; Hours of the Holy Spirit ff.32-35v; ff.37-41v Mass of the Virgin ff.37-41v; Gospel extracts (lacking end) ff.41v-44v; ff.45-88 Office of the Virgin, use cf Rome, ff.45-94: matins f.45 (lacking opening), lauds f.57, prime f.66, terce f.69, sext f.72, none f.76, vespers f.80, compline f.85, variants f.88v; Penitential Psalms and Litany ff.95-110; Office of the Dead, use of Rome, ff.111-138; O intemerata ff.138-140; Obsecro te ff.140-142v.
ILLUMINATION:
This Book of Hours resembles in its rich decoration a distinctive group of manuscripts made in Bruges for the English market, including the Berland Hours (sold Christie's, New York, 8 October 2001, lot 65), the Book of Hours of Edward, Lord North (London, BL, Harley Ms 3000) and the De Grey Hours (Aberystwyth, NLW, Ms 15537 C). Their lush borders, with curling acanthus fronds imitating contemporary English illumination, and their miniatures, peopled by demure figures with downcast eyes, are hallmarks of the Mildmay Master, named from his work in a Book of Hours in Chicago (Newberry Library, Ms 35), see N. Rogers, Books of Hours in the Low Countries for the English market in the 15th century (M. Litt. dissertation, Univ. of Cambridge, 1982). The Mildmay Master also worked for the home market: in addition to the present lot, he was responsible for the Breviary made for Adolph of Cleves, nephew of Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy, who made his career at the Burgundian court (Brussels, KBR, Ms II 5646), see B. Bousmanne, "Item a Guillaume Wyelant aussi enluminer", 1997, pp.322 and 236-237. The Master's debt to Willem Vrelant, one of the illuminators most favoured by Philip the Good, is obvious in his clarity of design and in his figures with their generalized, attractive faces.
Produced in the ambit of the Burgundian court, this Book of Hours then documented the disintegration of the Burgundian inheritance. The additions to the Calendar saluting Parma's successes of the 1580s mark a pivotal moment in the events that reclaimed the southern Netherlands for Spain and Catholicism and restricted the rebels to what would become the independent Protestant north.
The subjects of the full-page miniatures are as follows:
f.25v: eight-part miniature depicting Betrayal, Christ mocked, Christ before Pilate, Flagellation, Christ carrying the Cross, Crucifixion, Deposition and Entombment
f.31v Pentecost
f.36v Coronation of the Virgin
f.65v Nativity
f.79v Massacre of the Innocents
f.95v Last Judgement
The small miniatures are as follows: f.13 St Peter, f.13v Paul, f.14 Peter and Paul, f.14v John the Evangelist, f.15 John the Baptist, f.15v Andrew, f.16 Stephen, f.16v Lawrence, f.17 Thomas, f.17v Philip and Jacob, f.18 Bartholomew, f.18v Anthony, f.19 Mary Magdalene, f.19v Catherine, f.20 Margaret, f.20v Barbara, f.21 Elizabeth, f.21v Gertrude, f.22 Ursula, f.22v Ursula sheltering some of the 11,000 virgins; f.23 Claire, f.23v Helen, f.24 Virgin and Child in Glory between two angels.
Special notice
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