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)
One two-line illuminated initial in blue with delicate white penwork & an interior floral design in red, orange and blue on a burnished gold ground; ten one-line illuminated initials & six 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 ''Q'' begins Psalm 114 (King James 115) 2-9: ''Quia...'' (Because he hath inclined his ear unto me: and in my days I will call upon him...For he hath delivered my soul from death: my eyes from tears, my feet from falling. I will please the Lord in the land of the living).
The two-line illuminated ''A'' opens Psalm 119 (KJ 120): ''Ad dominum...'' (In my trouble I cried to the Lord...).
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.
Shipped in archival 14x11'' mat
