Original leaf from a medieval Book of Hours. 12 lines of ruled text, written in Latin with dark brown ink in gothic script on animal vellum. (187 x 138mm).
Two two-line initials, two one-line initials, and one line extender in gold, on blue and red ground, with delicate white tracery.
Unusual decorative borders having a white feather-like design with occasional leaves, terminating with a flower or berry and decorated throughout with burnished gold and colors of blue, green and pink.
Flanders, c. 1450.
The two-line illuminated ''E'' begins Ecclesiasticus (King James Sirach)24: 15: ''Et sit...''(And so was I established in Sion, and in the holy city likewise I rested, and my power was in Jerusalem).
The two-line illuminated ''D'' begins the prayer: ''Deus...'' (O God, who, by the fruitful virginity of blessed Mary, hast bestowed upon mankind the reward of eternal salvation: grant, we beseech Thee, that we may experience her intercession, through whom we have been made worthy to receive the author of life, our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son. Amen).
Books of Hours are personal prayer books of a devout and status-conscious society and are not only works of art, but cultural documents of their time. They reveal a unique combination of sacred and secular imagery - made of the finest materials, by the best craftsmen, for a small audience that could both appreciate and afford them.
Shipped in archival 14x11'' mat.
