Beschreibung:

BOOK OF HOURS, use of Paris, in Latin and French, ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM
BOOK OF HOURS, use of Paris, in Latin and French, ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM [Paris, c.1400] 175 x 115mm. i + 117: 1 1 2 , 2 6 , 3 8 , 4 2 , 5-9 8 , 10 3 , 11- 15 8 , 16 6 , apparently COMPLETE, traces of catchwords, signature letters c-r in gutters of first 4 rectos of gatherings 2-16, pencil foliation 1-118 followed here, 15 lines of gothic bookhand in black ink between two verticals and 16 horizontals ruled in pink, text justification: 92 x 57mm, rubrics in red, one-line initials in burnished gold against grounds and infills of pink and blue with white penwork, two- to four-line initials in blue or pink with white monochrome patterning, grounds of burnished gold, ivy-leaf spray in infills and into the margin, eight four-line initials with three-sided borders with bar baguettes and ivy sprays, two with dragons in upper margin, NINE MINIATURES accompanied by full-page borders composed of baguettes of gold, pink and blue and ivy-leaf sprays (water-staining to lower outer corner of ff.1-9, occasional small surface losses of pigment with some retouching of the Christ child and the Virgin's mantle, robe and right hand on f.19v, Gabriel's sleeve on f.31). Old purple velvet (worn and rebacked). PROVENANCE: The Calendar, liturgical use and style are all consistent with the manuscript having been made in and for use in Paris. The feminine forms of the prayers on ff.19v-27 indicate that the original owner was a woman. The texts on f.1r-v are 15th-century additions; also during the 15th century an owner inserted pilgrim badges on f.72 and the final leaf, the latter shows the offset of a painted Holy Face; Benjamin Oliveira (1806-1865), prominent member of the Independent Liberal party, MP for Pontefract from 1852, and Fellow of the Royal Society: his bookplate inside upper cover; Roger Amory of Boston (1887-1960), founder of the Johann Fust Community Library in Boca Grande, Florida (his own books were bequeathed there but many were dispersed): pencil note inside upper cover that from his collection; acquired from Goodspeed's Book Shop, 1976. CONTENT: Suffrage to St. Martin f.1; confession to the Virgin, Blessed Augustine and all saints f.1v; Calendar ff.2-13v; Gospel Extracts ff.14-18v; Obsecro te and O intemerata using feminine forms ff.19v-27; suffrages to Sts Katherine and Margaret ff. 28-29v; Office of the Virgin, use of Paris ff.30-72: matins f.30, lauds f.39, prime f.49, terce f.53v, sext f.57, none f.59v, vespers f.62v, compline f.66; Penitential Psalms and Litany ff.73-88; Hours of the Cross ff.88v-91v; Hours of the Holy Spirit ff.92-95; Fifteen Joys of the Virgin, in French ff.95v-103v; Office of the Dead ff.104-118. ILLUMINATION: The richly colored miniatures are the work of the Luçon Master also known as the Master of Etienne Loypeau, named from the Pontifical-Missal commissioned by Loypeau, the Bishop of Luçon, for presentation to John, Duke of Berry, and given by Berry to his Sainte-Chapelle in Bourges between 1404 and 1407 (Paris, BnF, ms lat. 8886, E. Taburet-Delahaye and F. Avril, Paris 1400: les arts sous Charles VI , 2004, no. 171). The Pentecost in this Book of Hours, f.92, follows the compositional pattern seen also in the Duke's manuscript, f.284v. The Duke of Berry, employer of the de Limbourg brothers, is famed as one of the greatest patrons of illumination: the Luçon Master illustrated several of his manuscripts and provided miniatures for a devotional text for Berry's daughter, Marie (BnF, Ms fr. 926, see lot 31). The Master was also the chief illuminator of the famous Térence des ducs for the Dauphin Louis of Guyenne (Paris, Bibl. de l'Arsenal, Ms 664). Categorized as one of the three 'protagonistes les plus en vue de l'enluminure parisienne au début du XVe siècle' (Avril, Paris 1400 , p.327), the Master is known for his refined technique and his patterned backgrounds, which contrast with the three-dimensionality of his elegantly draped figures. His deliberately restricted palette and soft modeling in