Original leaf from a medieval manuscript Book of Hours. 16 lines of text, ruled in red, written in Latin with dark brown ink & red rubrics in fine gothic script on animal vellum. (150 x 104mm – 5 7/8 x 4 3/8’’)
Two illuminated two-line initial in burnished gold on red and blue ground with delicate white penwork. Quarter floral motif panel borders in red, green, blue and liquid gold.
France (Paris), c. 1480
The nine lessons from Job contain moving readings from Job detailing the trials he endured in his struggle for God’s blessings. The two-line illuminated “P” begins Lesson I – Job 7:16-21: “Parce mihi…” (Spare me, for my days are nothing. What is a man that thou shouldst magnify him? Or why dost thou set thy heart upon him?...)
The two-line illuminated “T” begins Lesson II – Job 10:1: “Tedet animam…” (My soul is weary of my life, I will let go my speech…).
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
