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St Maturinus of Sens, miniature on a leaf from a Book of Hours [Brittany, c.1430-40]
Details
Anonynmous Breton illuminator
St Maturinus of Sens, miniature on a leaf from a Book of Hours [Brittany, c.1430-40]
A colourful miniature illuminated in an engaging and rustic style typical of Breton illumination depicting the wonderworking exorcist St Maturinus of Sens with a flock of sheep against a pastoral landscape.
197 x 139mm. The text with the suffrage to St Maturinus, the French exorcist and missionary, reverse with 19 lines of text, 2 illuminated initials, and the rubric for the suffrage to St Florentinus (some light marginal soiling). Window mount. Provenance: This leaf is f.309 from a gathering of 8 leaves, foliated 304-311, containing 11 suffrages to saints, each with a miniature, sold at Sotheby's, 29 November 1990, lot 33. It was bought by Maggs, and leaves appeared in their European Bulletin 18 (1993), no 5 (St Nicholas, St Sebastian), and Catalogue 1167 [1994] nos 31A (St Florentinus, St Leonard), 31B (St Eligius). The leaf with Sts Florentinus and Leonard was sold at Christie's, 14 May - 4 June 2020, lot 4. (2) Maggs, 19 July 1991, to the present owner.
The style of illumination suggests that the manuscript was painted in north-west France, probably Brittany, where Rennes was a major centre of book illumination. A very similar Breton decorative vocabulary can be seen in a Book of Hours at the Morgan Library, MS M.173, produced in Rennes in c.1430.
St Maturinus of Sens, miniature on a leaf from a Book of Hours [Brittany, c.1430-40]
A colourful miniature illuminated in an engaging and rustic style typical of Breton illumination depicting the wonderworking exorcist St Maturinus of Sens with a flock of sheep against a pastoral landscape.
197 x 139mm. The text with the suffrage to St Maturinus, the French exorcist and missionary, reverse with 19 lines of text, 2 illuminated initials, and the rubric for the suffrage to St Florentinus (some light marginal soiling). Window mount. Provenance: This leaf is f.309 from a gathering of 8 leaves, foliated 304-311, containing 11 suffrages to saints, each with a miniature, sold at Sotheby's, 29 November 1990, lot 33. It was bought by Maggs, and leaves appeared in their European Bulletin 18 (1993), no 5 (St Nicholas, St Sebastian), and Catalogue 1167 [1994] nos 31A (St Florentinus, St Leonard), 31B (St Eligius). The leaf with Sts Florentinus and Leonard was sold at Christie's, 14 May - 4 June 2020, lot 4. (2) Maggs, 19 July 1991, to the present owner.
The style of illumination suggests that the manuscript was painted in north-west France, probably Brittany, where Rennes was a major centre of book illumination. A very similar Breton decorative vocabulary can be seen in a Book of Hours at the Morgan Library, MS M.173, produced in Rennes in c.1430.
Special notice
This lot has been imported from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.
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