A pair of calendar leaves from the mid-fifteenth century, illuminated in Bruges and Paris with scenes of the Labors of the Month and Signs of the Zodiac.
Calendar leaves provide a fascinating window into everyday life in the Middle Ages showing scenes of activities throughout the year.
(i) WORKSHOP OF WILLEM VRELANT (active Bruges, 1454-1481)
A calendar leaf for June, with Hay Harvest and Cancer, from a Book of Hours, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment [Flanders, Bruges, c. 1460-1470].
173 x 115 cm. Single leaf, ruled in plummet for four columns of 17 lines (written space: 90 x 58 mm), written in red, brown, and blue ink in a late gothic bookhand, dates numbered in blue in a modern hand, two-line initials in burnished gold on red and blue ground with white tracery, one-sided floral border of tendrils with colored flowers and gold disks, TWO CALENDAR MINIATURES framed with gold and joined by floral border of the same (slight damp stain on the outer corner and browning at the edges, else in good condition).
This calendar leaf for the month of June presents two calendar miniatures that depict the activity that characterizes June, shepherds harvesting hay, and the zodiacal sign of Cancer. It comes from a Book of Hours dismantled in the 1990s. The inclusion in the parent manuscript of a rare suffrage to the Scottish saint St. Ninian and the presence of a bookplate of the Kennedy family, Scotland, suggest that it could have been commissioned by a Scottish patron. The style of the calendar miniatures with carefully defined features and soft colors is closely related to that of Willem Vrelant, active in Bruges from the 1450s onwards. Indeed, this workshop specialized in the illumination of manuscripts for exportation, especially to the British Isles. Manuscripts made for Scottish patrons are, however, exceedingly rare.
Provenance
Private collection, California, USA, MS 188.
Parent manuscript
The parent manuscript was a Book of Hours last sold as complete by Christie’s, London, 24 November 1993, lot 16. Sister leaves began to appear from the late 1990s onwards.
Sister leaves
Sotheby’s, London, 2 December 1997, lot 23; Bloomsbury and Dreweatts, London, 4 December 2018, lot 23.
LITERATURE
Further reading, see: Roger S. Wieck, The Medieval Calendar: Locating Time in the Middle Ages, New York, 2017.
(ii) CIRCLE OF FRANÇOIS LE BARBIER (active Paris, c. 1460-1480)
A calendar leaf for September, with the grape harvest and Virgo, from a Book of Hours, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment [France, Paris, c. 1460-1470].
160 x 110 mm. Single leaf, ruled in red for four columns of 17 lines (written space: 85 x 85 mm), written in gold, red, and blue ink in a late gothic bookhand, two-lines initial in blue on burnished gold ground, in-filled with red and blue flowers, with white tracery, TWO ARCH-TOPPED CALENDAR MINIATURES, in both recto and verso, framed with gold, enclosed in a one-sided border of vineleaves with gold disks, sprouts of acanthus, and flowers (faces rubbed with partial overpaint on the verso, slight losses of color, browning on the edges due to exposure, else in good condition).
This calendar leaf for the month of September depicts the Labor of the Month, a man treading grapes on the recto, and the zodiacal sign of the Virgo on the verso. The convincing rendering of depth, the gold frames shaded with red, and the subtle use of liquid gold in the draperies is reminiscent of manuscripts illuminated in the workshop of François I Le Barbier (Master François) in the 1460s and 1470s.
Provenance
Private collection, California, USA, MS 193.
Sister leaves
A sister leaf was sold by Maggs Bros in 2005 (Catalogue 1385, no. 32).
LITERATURE
Further reading, see: Roger S. Wieck, The Medieval Calendar: Locating Time in the Middle Ages, New York, 2017.
Freeman’s | Hindman thank Senior Consultant Sandra Hindman and Elliott Adam for their assistance in preparing this sale.
Property of a Private California Collector
