Original leaf from a medieval manuscript Book of Hours. 18 lines of red ruled text, written in Latin, with dark brown ink in gothic script on animal vellum. (178 x 110mm – 7 x 4 5/8’’)
Two illuminated two-line initials, twelve illuminated one-line initials, & eight illuminated line-extenders in burnished gold on blue and red grounds with delicate white tracery. Quarter-page panel-borders contain an intricate floral motif with acanthus leaves, berries and flowers in temperas and brushed gold.
Paris, c. 1450-60.
The two-line illuminated “D” begins Psalm 129 (King James 130) complete: “De profundis…” (Out of the depths I have cried to thee, O Lord: Lord, hear my voice. Let thy ears be attentive to the voce of my supplication. If thou, O Lord, wilt mark iniquities: Lord, who shall stand it. For with thee there is merciful forgiveness: and by reason of thy law, I wave waited for thee, O Lord…).
The next two-line illuminated “D” opens Psalm 142 (KJ 143): “Domine…” (Hear O Lord, my prayer: give ear to my supplication in thy truth: hear me in thy justice…).
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, which could both appreciate and afford them.
Presented in an archival 14 x 11'' mat
