A lovely original leaf from a medieval manuscript pocket Bible, written in Northern France (probably Paris), c. 1260. In Latin gothic micro-minuscule script, ruled in red and written in brown ink in two columns of 43 lines on animal vellum. (156x103 mm).
Rubricated chapter numbers, two exceptional initials – one historiated with a miniature of Solomon praying at an altar and one inhabited with a fanciful winged creature peering directly at the reader!!
The initials are in pink, with delicate white tracery and on a blue ground with interior colors of blue, gray, red, violet and gold. The calligraphy is excellent, and the vellum is of the finest quality, extremely thin and smooth. The gothic text is written in remarkably tiny & very well formed letters, so small that there are ten lines of text to the inch!
This leaf contains text from I Paralipomenon (King James – I Chronicles) 29:18 – II Paralipomenon (KJ II Chronicles) 1:14: ''Domine Deus…'' (O Lord God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Israel our fathers, keep forever this well of their heart, and let this mind remain always for the worship of thee…).
The bible that contained this leaf was a very high-quality production, illuminated in Paris and similar to the accomplished work associated by Branner with the Dominican Painter (see Robert Branner, Manuscript Painting in Paris during the Reign of Saint Louis).
Provenance: the parent book was a ''portable'' Bible of the Crusades period, used in the study of theology or preaching of the Gospel around medieval countryside. It was in England by the 17th century; ex collection of Lord Saltoun and later in the famous collection of William Foyle (1885-1963) at Beeligh Abbey.
Shipped in archival 14x11'' mat.
