Original manuscript leaf from a medieval Antiphonal. Written in Latin with brown and red ink on animal parchment. (410 x 280 mm - 16.4 x 11.2")
Five lines of music and text on a four-line stave, with marginalia in red and blue.
Italy, c. 1370.
The historiated initial contains a miniature painting of Jesus riding a donkey as he enters Jerusalem with his disciples.
The initial ''D'' begins the section for Palm Sunday with Psalm 39 (King James 40):12: ''Domine ne longe'' (Withhold not thou, O Lord, thy tender mercies from me…).
The miniature was painted at a later date than the rest of the leaf as evidenced by vestiges of an abstract pattern underneath.
As is usual with Medieval and Renaissance parchment, the hair side of the leaf is darker than the flesh side, but may take ink somewhat better. The differences in tone caused scribes to arrange their quires so that the hair side of one sheet faced the hair side of the next, and the flesh side faced the flesh side.
Shipped unmatted.
