Original leaf from a medieval manuscript Book of Hours. 13 lines of text, ruled in red, written in Latin with dark brown ink & red rubrics in fine rounded gothic script on animal vellum. (96 x 70mm) .
One illuminated two-line initial, and seven illuminated one-line initials alternating in burnished gold with elaborate violet internal & external penwork, & deep blue with red internal & external penwork. The penwork extends from the two-line initial along the length of the margin.
Northern Italy (probably Ferrara), c. 1470.
The colorful initials are characteristic of Ferrarese illumination of the 1470’s – especially the work of Guglielmo Giraldi (Ref: Toniolo, La miniature a Ferrara (1998), pp. 214-223). The precise & elegant penwork flourishing is also represented in manuscripts of that workshop & similar to the ornamentation found in the pattern book of Guinfortus de Vicomercato (Ref: J. G. Alexander, The Painted Page, London 1994, p. 109).
The two-line illuminated ''C'' begins Psalm 18 (King James 19) 1-8: ''Celi…'' (The heavens show forth the glory of God, and the firmament delcareth the work of his hands. Day to day uttereth speech & night to night showeth knowledge…).
Books of Hours are personal prayer books of a devout, status-conscious society. They are both works of art & cultural documents of their time. They are made of the finest materials, by the best craftsmen, for a small audience that could both appreciate and afford them.
Shipped in archival 14x11'' mat.
