JARRY, Nicolas (ca.1615-1670). Prières dévotes. ILLUMINATED CALLIGRAPHIC MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM. [Signed on page 149 'N. Jarry Paris. scribebat, 1649'].

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JARRY, Nicolas (ca.1615-1670). Prières dévotes. ILLUMINATED CALLIGRAPHIC MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM. [Signed on page 149 'N. Jarry Paris. scribebat, 1649'].

12° (123 x 80mm). 90 leaves (including one blank at the beginning and two at end), paginated [4],162,[1]pp, each page within a frame of burnished gold, 16 lines and running headline, Latin text written in a roman hand in sepia ink, French text and headings in an italic hand in red or gold ink, main headings in gold and blue, versal initials in red, larger initials in blue, red and gold, 8 three-line initials in gold with floral decoration, 5 floral head-pieces, 4 FINE FULL-PAGE AND 5 HALF-PAGE MINIATURES, on the final leaf a full-page monogram of interlacing capital letters B.E.E.I.I.R.R.Y. in gold, within a wreath of palm leaves. VERY FINE OLIVE MOROCCO GILT BINDING BY FLORIMOND BADIER, to an elaborate fanfare design, the sections between the interlacing pattern filled with small tools part pointillé, spine with five raised bands, red morocco lettering-piece in one compartment, the others decorated à la fanfare, doublures of ivory vellum, tooled in gilt as covers, dated in centre 'Juin 1695', two silver-gilt clasps and catches, gilt edges. In chamois-lined blue morocco case.

A MASTERPIECE BY THE MOST FAMOUS EXPONENT OF THE FRENCH COURT SCHOOL OF CALLIGRAPHY. Jarry's greatest strength lay in the small prayer books, written in scripts of consummate elegance, which he produced to commission for members of the French royal court. Most of those known have fewer miniatures than the manuscript offered here, probably reflecting the scarcity of active illuminators still capable of outstanding work. According to Portalis (see below), the present manuscript is one of the most profusely illustrated. Jarry used two illuminators, Louis de Guernier (1614-59) and Jean Petitot (1607-91), both painters on enamel, who had been pupils of Jean Toutin of Blois. Portalis attributes this manuscript to the latter. This book has the brilliant yet delicate colouring associated with enamel painters. The miniatures are all painted on inserted leaves of slightly thicker vellum.

PROVENANCE: (1) Unidentified monogram on the last leaf; it was formerly believed to be that of Charles Duc de Berry, grandson of Louis XIV (born 1668), but as it is not a later insertion and not crowned that would seem highly unlikely. (Perhaps a member of the Berryer family, one of whom was a famous bibliophile of the mid-18th century?) (2) Le Riche, 'secrétaire de Louis XV et fin bibliophile'. He was in the habit of having tooled into the centre of the covers or doublures of his books the date when he acquired them. To the doublures of this manuscript he has added 'Juin 1695'. For another volume from Le Riche's collection see Bibliothèque Jacques Guérin, Part VI, sale Paris June 1990, lot 845. (3) Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, Comte de Mirabeau; his sale Paris 1791, lot 845: 'Ce volume précieux est orné de huit mignatures[sic]... que nous croyons être peintes par le fameux Petitot ... Ce beau manuscrit offre le modèle le plus parfait du talent de ces deux habiles artistes ... à la fin le chiffre en or d'un Duc de Berry'. It realized 860 livres, 12 sous, a remarkable price at that time. (4) Raoul Léonor l'Homme-Dieu du Tranchant, Comte de Lignerolles: his sale Part I, 1894, lot 15. '9 miniatures admirablement peintes par Du Guernier'. It realized 6,920 francs. (5) Robert Hoe, with his booklabel, his sale part II, New York 1912, lot 2480, $1,100 to Rahir. (6) Edouard Rahir, Bulletin de la Librairie Damascène Morgand, June 1912, no.297 (10,000 frs). (7) A.Rosset, Lyon, with his bookplate, (his collection of manuscripts sold en bloc to L'Oncle). (8) Maître Maurice l'Oncle, his sale Paris 1960, lot 22.

TEXT: (p.1) Office de la Vierge; (p.21) Les sept pseaumes pénitentiaux; (p.45) Litanies de Saincts; (p.56) Prières; (p.65) Symbole de Sainct Athanase; (p.73) Oraison devant la Confession; (p.77) Preparation à la Communion; (p.116) Méditations pieuses & dévotes de la Passion; (p.123) Vespres du dimanche; (p.138) À Complie; (p.150) Oraisons à dire après l'office; (p.152) Antienne de S.Jean Baptiste; (p.154) Hymnes.

THE SUBJECTS OF THE FULL-PAGE MINIATURES ARE:
facing page 1: the Nativity within a romantic ruin;
facing page 22: King David at Prayer before the walls of a city;
facing page 43: Ecce Homo, Christ between two soldiers, a crowd below;
facing page 151: John the Baptist preaching to a group of men and women in a rural landscape.

The half-page miniatures are:
p.116. The Crucifixion;
p.118. Christ the Redeemer gathering souls from Hell;
p.119. The Resurrection;
p.120. Christ the Good Shepherd;
p.121. The Entombment.

As regards the binding, Florimond Badier's atelier was one of the most outstanding in Paris during the first half of the 17th century. He was active from 1630 to 1668, with a break of three years between 1659 and 1662. The binding is described by Raphael Esmerian in the catalogue of his sale (part II, Paris 8 Dec.1972) p.26. "L'Atelier Badier semble avoir travaillé très étroitement avec le calligraphe Nicolas Jarry. J'ai même l'impression qu'entre les années 1641 et 1652 un seul relieur s'occupait de ses manuscrits. Ils présentent entre eux des points de ressemblance assez frappants: le maroquin est plus écrasé , les fers ne remplissent pas entièrement les compartiments, la 'petite tête' ne figure jamais dans leur ornementation, et ils ont tous des doublures."

LITERATURE: Baron Roger Portalis, "Nicolas Jarry et la calligraphie au XVIIe siècle", Bulletin du Bibliophile et du Bibliothécaire, 1896, listing the present manuscript as no.75. Abbé V.Leroquais, Bibliothèque de la Ville de Lyon: Exposition de manuscrits à peintures ... Catalogue descriptif, Lyon 1920, no. 55 and plate 56, "Miniatures attribuées à Jean Petitot. Elles sont remarquables par la richesse du coloris, le fini du détail, et quelques-unes par la beauté de l'exécution."

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