Original leaf from an important printed & hand-illuminated Book of Hours. Ruled Latin text in red & black on animal vellum. (170 x 113mm – 6 ¾ x 4 3/8’’)
One two-line initial, illuminated by hand in gold, blue ground. Printed by Thielman Kerver in Paris, c. 1497. Noted for its DECORATIVE BORDERS - the paneled surrounds are historiated or inhabited forms (with woodsmen, & zoo-anthropomorphic characters!).
The center (recto) depicts THE PLANETARY MAN. It illustrates the effects of the planets on different parts of the human body. It was especially pertinent to the foremost medical practice of the Middle Ages. Surrounding the body, instructions relate to best zodiacal times for bleeding, to rid the body of bad blood & harmful fluids. Upper left: “When the moon is in Aries, Leo, & Sagittarius, it is good to bleed the choleric”. In the corners are personifications of the four temperaments. The choleric, whose symbol is the lion is associated with the element of fire. The sanguine holds his hawk & is accompanied by a monkey – his element is air. The melancholic leads a pig – his element is earth. The phlegmatic animal is the lamb - his element water.
Verso: Month of January Calendar - Panels at top show labor of the month & zodiacal sign per 1497 calendar (Feasting & Aquarius, the Water Carrier). Among the feast days listed are St. Antony (Jan. 17) St. Sebastian (Jan. 20) and St. Agnes (Jan. 21).
Calendar: Left are letters A - G called Dominical Letters (to help find Sundays). Far left is a column of Roman numerals i - xix called Golden Numbers to indicate appearances of new moons, & counting ahead 14 days, full moons through the year (year + 1; divide by 19; remainder is Golden Number - if zero GN = 19). The 3 fixed points: Kalends (1st) Ides (middle) & Nones (9th day before Ides). Days between are counted backwards from these points.
Provenance: from a book once in the Collection of Count Paul Durrieu (1855-1925 - Eminent Historian of Late Medieval French Illuminated Manuscripts, and Keeper of Manuscripts in the Biblioteque Nationale).
Presented in an archival 14 x 11'' mat
