~ Owned by Catherine de Medici - Queen of France - Mother of two Kings ~
Original leaf from a medieval manuscript Book of Hours. 11 lines of ruled gothic textura script, written in Latin with dark brown ink, on animal vellum. (156 x 114mm).
One two-line illuminated initial, five one-line illuminated initials and five illuminated line extenders in burnished gold on red and blue ground with delicate white tracery.
France, Use of Amiens, c. 1450.
Provenance: Sotheby's Sale Tuesday, June 22, 1999 - Lot #92. An early owner of this Book of Hours was ''F.D.M. Aumonnier de la Royne Mere du Roy" - Chaplain of the Queen Mother of the King - Catherine de Medici (1519-1589), Queen of France (1547 - 1559); wife of Henry II; mother of Charles IX (King of France 1560-1574); and Henry III (King of France 1574-1589).
The one-line illuminated ''E'' begins Psalm 42 (King James 43) 4-6: ''Et...'' (And I will go in to the altar of God: to God who giveth joy to my youth. To thee, O God my God, I will give praise upon the harp...). The two-line illuminated ''S'' begins Psalm 128: 1-2: ''Sepe...'' (Often have they fought against me from my youth, let Israel now say...).
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 that could both appreciate and afford them.
Shipped in archival 14x11'' mat.
