Illuminated Manuscript Book of Hours Leaf Fragment, France, c. 1420
Impaired cutting from BoH leaf with devotional wear
IM-13566: Impaired fragment from an illuminated manuscript Book of Hours on vellum.
France, c. 1420.
Size: 90 x 90mm – 3 7/8 x 3
7/8 inches
The cutting was excised from what was
originally a magnificent leaf. Recto depicts an arch-topped miniature painting
of the Presentation in the Temple. The painting is framed with gold arched bar with an imp holding a cat in the upper right
corner.
The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, known
popularly as Candlemas and celebrated
on February 2 is described in the Gospel of Luke 2:22-40: Forty days after the birth of Jesus,
Mary & Joseph took the child to the Temple in Jerusalem (as tradition dictated).
Once there, they encountered Simeon the Righteous who
prophesized that the infant would redeem the world.
The
dramatic painting (recto) opens the Hours of
the Virgin, Hour of None and depicts
Mary handing the Christ Child to Simeon, the High Priest. The haloed
female standing behind Mary carries an offering basket of turtle doves.
Verso
has ten manuscript lines of bold gothic text with five one-line illuminated initials and six illuminated line-extenders
in burnished gold on red and blue ground. The red rubric indicates the hour
of None. Vestiges of previous
mounting are evident.
This fragment was scribed and illuminated circa 1420. This is a highly ornamental original, about 600 years old, not a reproduction. Note that it is in impaired condition as shown in the photos, cut from a leaf and with significant wear. In good condition, the leaf would have been worth thousands. It comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.
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. | ||