Beschreibung:

THE OCCUPATIONS OF THE MONTHS AND ZODIAC SIGNS: twelve miniatures on six leaves comprising the calendar in French from a Book of Hours, illuminated manuscript on vellum[Central France, late 15th century]
six leaves, each c. 210 × 135mm, ruled for up to 33 lines, written in a neat lettre bâtarde with an entry for every day, major feasts in gold, the others alternately red or blue, each page with a horizontal miniature (or two smaller miniatures side-by-side) at the top, and a panel border in the outer margin of stylised acanthus in gold and blue a bare vellum ground, and semi-naturalistic flowers, fruit, etc. on panels of gold; with minor imperfections but generally in very good condition; separately framed in double-sided frames
PROVENANCEFeasts in gold include Claude, archbishop of Besançon (6 June) and Francis (4 October), suggestive of the patron’s geographical and spiritual affiliations.Unidentified 19th-century French(?) collector: with their ink-stamp, an oval containing heraldic arms (three cross-topped orbs) surmounted by a coronet and the motto ‘SIC VNDIQVE LVCTVS’.Henry Sotheran Ltd., London; bought in July 2009 by:The Boehlen Collection, Bern, MS 1425
ILLUMINATIONAll the miniatures are a single horizontal scene, set in a landscape, with the relevant sign of the zodiac in the sky, except for January, February, and September, which have two separate square miniatures, one for the Occupation, and one for the Zodiac sign. The subjects are:January. Feasting: a man dining at a table before a large fireplace; a separate miniature depicts Aquarius as a cherub pouring water from a jug into a riverFebruary. Warming: the man from the previous miniature has turned away from the table and is warming himself before a blazing fire; a separate miniature depicts Pisces as two large fish over a landscape with a riverMarch. Pruning: a man with pruning hook tending to saplingsApril. Leisure: a finely dressed man with a rose in one hand and a falcon in the otherMay. Courting: a finely dressed young man and woman together on a horseJune. Mowing: a man with bare legs cutting grass with a scytheJuly. Reaping: a man cutting tall wheat with a sickleAugust. Threshing: a man threshing wheat, in a landscapeSeptember. Treading grapes in a barrel; a separate miniature depicts a pair of scales and a landscape backgroundOctober. Sowing: a man broadcasting seeds in a ploughed fieldNovember. Pannage: a man knocking acorns from trees to fed his pigsDecember. Butchering: a man with a club, about to stun a pig