Western Manuscripts and Miniatures

Sweet illuminated leaf with a cozy scene of the Virgin and apostles surrounded by an exceptionally rich strewn border, including a rare depiction of a European bee-eater.

165 x 125 mm, ruled in plummet for 27 lines (written space: 97 x 71 mm), written in brown ink in a Northern Netherlandish textualis hand, capitals touched with red, rubrics in red, one-line initials alternately in red or blue, two-line initials in same, one very large historiated initial in blue with white tracery on burnished gold ground, accompanied with a full floral border on liquid gold ground inhabited with a snail, a brown butterfly, a fly, a bee-eater, a grasshopper, a mosquito, strawberries, roses, and acanthus (minor stains, slight browning at edges, else in very good condition).

The leaf comes from an unidentified Book of hours in Dutch, of which it introduced the Matins of the Hours of the Holy Spirit. It contains a large historiated initial ‘H’ on the recto that depicts Pentecost. The body of the initial is decorated with fine foliage, and its bow is elongated like the cupola of a chapel to accommodate the Dove of the Holy Spirit. The cusped indentation to the burnished gold ground is an unusual invention and adds a beautiful detail. In the small space inside the initial the artist managed to create a remarkably compelling and intimate scene as if seen in a convex mirror. The disciples are gathered on wooden benches around the Virgin in a dark room with a striking tiled floor. The colors of the cloaks create a rich harmony, and the small, sweet faces are expressive and individual. The page is further decorated with a full strewn border that is exceptional in both the quality and quantity of the naturalistic representations it gathers: a snail, a brown butterfly, a fly, a grasshopper, a mosquito, a strawberry, roses and acanthus. In the lower left corner is a small colourful bird that resembles a European bee-eater. The border was probably painted in Bruges.

The script in Northern Netherlandish textualis as well as the foliate initial on burnished gold ground are very similar to those in a Book of Hours dated 1484 and made for use in South Holland, possibly in the towns of Gorinchem or Schoonhoven (The Hague, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, MS 133 M 82; As-Vijvers and Korteweg 2018, no. 70, pp. 260-261). The miniatures facing the initials and the border decorations of that manuscript are due to different artists than the ones responsible for the present leaf, but the script and initials are probably the work of the same illuminators working in South Holland. Notably, The Hague manuscript, as well as another Book of Hours dated 1484 that can be added to this group (Princeton, University Library, Cotsen MS 52225), show evidence of collaboration between artists and scribes in South Holland and Bruges.

Some features of the style of the figures (their somewhat short and squat form and their deep-set somewhat shaded eyes) recall works attributed to the Dutch miniaturist active in Haarlem c. 1470-1480, whom James Marrow named the Master of the London Jason after his contribution to a manuscript Historie van Jason and Dat Scaecspel in London (British Library, MS. Add. 10290).

Provenance
Private collection, California, USA, MS 274.

LITERATURE
For further literature, see Anne Margreet As-Vijvers and Anne Korteweg, Splendour of The Burgundian Netherlands, Zwolle, 2018.

We thank James Marrow for his help with the attribution. Freeman’s | Hindman thank Senior Consultant Sandra Hindman and Elliott Adam for their assistance in preparing this sale.