Original leaf from a medieval manuscript Book of Hours. 15 lines of red-ruled Latin text, in dark brown ink, on animal vellum. (197 x 138mm)
Eleven one-line illuminated initials & seven illuminated line-extenders in burnished gold on red & blue ground with delicate white penwork. The text is surrounded on 3 sides with an elegant rinceaux panel border in a delicate floral motif with ivy leaves in red, blue, green, orange & burnished gold; an illuminated bar extends beyond the length of the text in red, blue & burnished gold.
Northern France (Paris), c. 1420-40.
The one-line illuminated ''D'' begins Psalm 24 (King James 25) 9-16: ''Diriget...'' (He will guide the mild in judgment: he will teach the meek his ways. All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth, to them that seek after his covenant and his testimonies. For thy name's sake, O Lord, thou wilt pardon my sin: for it is great. Who is the man that feareth the Lord? He hath appointed him a law in the way he hath chosen. His soul shall dwell in good things: and his seed shall inherit the land. The Lord is a firmament to them that fear him: and his covenant shall be made manifest to them...).
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 14x11'' mat
