.jpg?w=1)
Details
BOOK OF HOURS, use of Rome, in Latin, ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM
[southern Netherlands or, possibly, Spain, c.1480]
171 x 117mm. 137 leaves: mostly in gatherings of 8 with folios 7 and 11 inserted singletons with miniatures, apparently COMPLETE, 18 lines written in two distinct gothic bookhands between two verticals and 19 horizontals ruled in pink, justification: 106 x 68mm, rubrics in red, one-line text initials alternately blue and burnished gold with red or black flourishing, two- to five-line initials of burnished gold against grounds and infills of pink and blue with white penwork decoration, often accompanied by marginal sprays or part-borders, major devotions open with seven-line initials of blue with white decoration, grounds of burnished gold and infills of dark pink with liquid gold decoration accompanied by borders with baguettes of gold and colours, sprays of acanthus, flowers and fruit, occasional birds and interspersed with gold disks, and facing SIX FULL-PAGE ARCH-TOPPED MINIATURES surrounded by borders of similar type, lesser devotions open with large foliate initials and THIRTEEN SMALL MINIATURES accompanied by part-borders. 16TH-CENTURY SPANISH GOLD-TOOLED GOATSKIN panelled with an outer floral border, and an inner border of porcupines, hares and sprays composed of individual tools, fleurons at corners, arms of the owner at centre, name, Don Pedro Manrique, tooled above and below, and quoniam melior est misericordia tua super vitam labia mea laudabun and the monogram TE tooled in the middle border on the upper cover, and sic benedicam te in vita mea et in nomine tuo levabo manus meas in the middle border on the lower cover, spine gilt in ten compartments, leaf-edges gilt and gauffered to a rope-work design, two brass clasps and catches.
PROVENANCE:
1. The sparsely-filled Calendar would suggest an origin in the southern Netherlands although one of the painting styles appears to be Spanish. The preponderance of Franciscan saints in the Litany and the second sequence of Suffrages, devoted entirely to Franciscans, seem likely to reflect the devotional allegiance of the owner or owners: while several prayers are in the masculine form, some of the final prayers are in the feminine and one is for both a man and a woman (f.121).
2. Don Pedro Manrique: his name and arms tooled on the upper and lower covers.
CONTENT:
Calendar ff.1-6v; Hours of the Cross ff.8-10; Hours of the Holy Spirit ff.12-14; Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary ff.15-17v; Gospel Extracts ff.17v-23; Suffrages to Sts John the Baptist f.23v, Lawrence f.24, Nicholas f.24v, Margaret f.25, Appollonia f.25v, Barbara f.26; Obsecro te ff.26v-29; O Intemerata ff.29v-31v; Suffrages to Sts Francis f.32, Anthony of Padua ff.32v-33, Bernardino ff.33-33v, Clara ff.33v-34; Office of the Virgin ff.35-81: matins f.35, lauds f.42v, prime f.51, terce f.53v, sext f.56, none f.58, vespers f.60, compline f.65, Propers for the Office of the Virgin ff.68-81; Seven Penitential Psalms ff.83-91v; Litany ff.91v-94; Office of the Dead ff.95-117; Verses of St Gregory ff.117v-118; Verses of St Bernard ff.118v-119; Prayer of St Leo, and other prayers ff.119v-136; added psalms and prayers ff.136-137v.
The majority of the manuscript is written in a flamboyant, round, gothic bookhand that may be the work of a Spanish scribe. A second scribe, writing in a more restrained liturgical bookhand, provided ff.32-34, 68-81, 102-113 and 117-137v.
ILLUMINATION:
The miniatures are the work of two illuminators
Like the texts, the miniatures and the borders that accompany them are of two distinct styles. One appears to be by an artist conversant with Bruges illumination and basing his compositions on Bruges models; these decorate the folios by the scribe responsible for writing the majority of the manuscript. The remainder, on the folios written by the second scribe, with their crisper definition, harsher modelling and slightly angular figures seem more likely to be the work of a Spanish illuminator. It may be significant that these folios carry the more personal texts, and could be regarded as additions, and it is possible that the manuscript was bought in, or exported from, the Netherlands and then expanded for its Spanish owner. There is, however, an inter-relation of texts and illumination in the different styles (for example the second scribe wrote only part of the Vigils of the Dead) that makes it seem more likely that the two scribes and illuminators worked concurrently, and the manuscript may have been produced in Spain rather than the Netherlands.
The subjects of the full-page miniatures are as follows:
f.7v Crucifixion with the Virgin and John the Evangelist
f.11v Pentecost
f.14v Virgin and Child with music-making angel
f.34v Annunciation
f.82v David in Prayer
f.94v Raising of Lazarus
The subjects of the small miniatures are as follows:
John the Baptist f.23v; St Lawrence f. 24; St Nicholas f.24v; St Margaret f.25; St Apollonia f.25v; St Barbara f.26; St Francis f.32; St Antony of Padua f.32v; St Bernardino f.33; St Clare f.33v; Mass of St Gregory f.117v; St Bernard f.118v; St Leo f.119v
[southern Netherlands or, possibly, Spain, c.1480]
171 x 117mm. 137 leaves: mostly in gatherings of 8 with folios 7 and 11 inserted singletons with miniatures, apparently COMPLETE, 18 lines written in two distinct gothic bookhands between two verticals and 19 horizontals ruled in pink, justification: 106 x 68mm, rubrics in red, one-line text initials alternately blue and burnished gold with red or black flourishing, two- to five-line initials of burnished gold against grounds and infills of pink and blue with white penwork decoration, often accompanied by marginal sprays or part-borders, major devotions open with seven-line initials of blue with white decoration, grounds of burnished gold and infills of dark pink with liquid gold decoration accompanied by borders with baguettes of gold and colours, sprays of acanthus, flowers and fruit, occasional birds and interspersed with gold disks, and facing SIX FULL-PAGE ARCH-TOPPED MINIATURES surrounded by borders of similar type, lesser devotions open with large foliate initials and THIRTEEN SMALL MINIATURES accompanied by part-borders. 16TH-CENTURY SPANISH GOLD-TOOLED GOATSKIN panelled with an outer floral border, and an inner border of porcupines, hares and sprays composed of individual tools, fleurons at corners, arms of the owner at centre, name, Don Pedro Manrique, tooled above and below, and quoniam melior est misericordia tua super vitam labia mea laudabun and the monogram TE tooled in the middle border on the upper cover, and sic benedicam te in vita mea et in nomine tuo levabo manus meas in the middle border on the lower cover, spine gilt in ten compartments, leaf-edges gilt and gauffered to a rope-work design, two brass clasps and catches.
PROVENANCE:
1. The sparsely-filled Calendar would suggest an origin in the southern Netherlands although one of the painting styles appears to be Spanish. The preponderance of Franciscan saints in the Litany and the second sequence of Suffrages, devoted entirely to Franciscans, seem likely to reflect the devotional allegiance of the owner or owners: while several prayers are in the masculine form, some of the final prayers are in the feminine and one is for both a man and a woman (f.121).
2. Don Pedro Manrique: his name and arms tooled on the upper and lower covers.
CONTENT:
Calendar ff.1-6v; Hours of the Cross ff.8-10; Hours of the Holy Spirit ff.12-14; Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary ff.15-17v; Gospel Extracts ff.17v-23; Suffrages to Sts John the Baptist f.23v, Lawrence f.24, Nicholas f.24v, Margaret f.25, Appollonia f.25v, Barbara f.26; Obsecro te ff.26v-29; O Intemerata ff.29v-31v; Suffrages to Sts Francis f.32, Anthony of Padua ff.32v-33, Bernardino ff.33-33v, Clara ff.33v-34; Office of the Virgin ff.35-81: matins f.35, lauds f.42v, prime f.51, terce f.53v, sext f.56, none f.58, vespers f.60, compline f.65, Propers for the Office of the Virgin ff.68-81; Seven Penitential Psalms ff.83-91v; Litany ff.91v-94; Office of the Dead ff.95-117; Verses of St Gregory ff.117v-118; Verses of St Bernard ff.118v-119; Prayer of St Leo, and other prayers ff.119v-136; added psalms and prayers ff.136-137v.
The majority of the manuscript is written in a flamboyant, round, gothic bookhand that may be the work of a Spanish scribe. A second scribe, writing in a more restrained liturgical bookhand, provided ff.32-34, 68-81, 102-113 and 117-137v.
ILLUMINATION:
The miniatures are the work of two illuminators
Like the texts, the miniatures and the borders that accompany them are of two distinct styles. One appears to be by an artist conversant with Bruges illumination and basing his compositions on Bruges models; these decorate the folios by the scribe responsible for writing the majority of the manuscript. The remainder, on the folios written by the second scribe, with their crisper definition, harsher modelling and slightly angular figures seem more likely to be the work of a Spanish illuminator. It may be significant that these folios carry the more personal texts, and could be regarded as additions, and it is possible that the manuscript was bought in, or exported from, the Netherlands and then expanded for its Spanish owner. There is, however, an inter-relation of texts and illumination in the different styles (for example the second scribe wrote only part of the Vigils of the Dead) that makes it seem more likely that the two scribes and illuminators worked concurrently, and the manuscript may have been produced in Spain rather than the Netherlands.
The subjects of the full-page miniatures are as follows:
f.7v Crucifixion with the Virgin and John the Evangelist
f.11v Pentecost
f.14v Virgin and Child with music-making angel
f.34v Annunciation
f.82v David in Prayer
f.94v Raising of Lazarus
The subjects of the small miniatures are as follows:
John the Baptist f.23v; St Lawrence f. 24; St Nicholas f.24v; St Margaret f.25; St Apollonia f.25v; St Barbara f.26; St Francis f.32; St Antony of Padua f.32v; St Bernardino f.33; St Clare f.33v; Mass of St Gregory f.117v; St Bernard f.118v; St Leo f.119v