An exceptionally large original leaf from a costly medieval manuscript Book of Hours. 14 lines of text, ruled in red, written in Latin with dark brown ink in gothic script on animal vellum. (210 x 145 mm - 8.4 x 5.8")
One two-line illuminated initial, eight one-line illuminated initials and eight illuminated line-extenders in burnished gold on red and blue ground with delicate white penwork. The miniature paintings from this book were painted in the style of the Master of the Harvard Hannibal.
Northern France, c. 1430.
The two-line illuminated ''T'' begins Psalm 64 (King James 65) 1-9: ''Te decet...'' (A hymn, O God, becometh thee in Sion: and a vow shall be paid to thee in Jerusalem. O hear my prayer: all flesh shall come to thee. The words of the wicked have prevailed over us: and thou wilt pardon our transgressions. Blessed is he whom thou hast chosen and taken to thee: he shall dwell in thy courts. We shall be filled with the good things of thy house; holy is thy temple, wonderful in justice. Hear us, O God our savior who art the hope of all ends of the earth, and in the sea afar off. Thou who preparests the mountains by thy strength, being girded with power: who troublest the depth of the sea, the noise of its waves...).
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.
Presented in an archival 14x11'' mat
