EMILIA ILLUMINATOR
Leaf from an Antiphonary with a historiated initial ‘I’ depicting St. Augustine beneath a gothic canopy, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment [Italy, Emilia-Romagna, c. 1300–1325]

Featuring a luminous historiated initial within a tabernacle-like frame in a sophisticated Gothic style.

551 × 380 mm. Single leaf with vertical bounding lines faintly ruled in plummet or leadpoint for a single column with seven groups of four-line staves, each 32 mm, text written in black ink in textualis rotunda and music in black ink with square notation (notae quadratae), versals and responsories in red, one smaller pen-flourished initial ‘A’ in blue with red and purple ink penwork appears in the upper right quadrant of the page, ONE HISTORIATED INITIAL ‘I’ of approximately six lines depicting a bishop saint—likely St. Augustine—shown in episcopal vestments with mitre and crosier, set against a gold ground and framed within a tabernacle-like architectural initial, vine-like tendrils extend from the historiated initial into the lower and left margins, terminating in a bird-like hybrid creature and floral foliate terminals in red and grey. Minor creases, staining, and loss at corners, margins slightly trimmed, but the overall legibility and integrity of the musical content and decoration remain intact.

This striking leaf, from a now-dispersed Antiphonary, preserves part of the First Response of the First Nocturne for the Feast of St. Augustine (28 August), beginning with Invenit se Augustinus longe esse a Deo. In the lower margin, a finely executed six-line historiated initial depicts a bishop saint—almost certainly St. Augustine—enthroned within a tabernacle-like initial. He wears episcopal vestments, including a mitre and crozier, and is framed against a luminous ground of burnished gold. The architectural surround is rendered in soft grey, flanked by vibrant orange-red pilasters, and delicately set off by leafy marginal extensions, including a bird pecking at a curling vine.

Though relatively restrained in its decoration, the leaf displays a sophisticated handling of form and color. The saint’s blue tunic, greenish flesh tones, and expressive features—especially his slightly angular face and gentle smile—reveal a hand attuned to the visual language of late thirteenth-century illumination in northern Italy. While the artist remains anonymous, the style bears notable affinities with painters working in the orbit of Bologna and Emilia-Romagna, particularly the illuminator of f. 222v of MS Ludwig I.II in the Getty Museum. Likely trained outside Bologna, this artist demonstrates a refined regional interpretation of the Bolognese Gothic style emerging at the dawn of the fourteenth century.

Provenance
(1) London, Sotheby’s, 1 December 1998, lot 41.

(2) Robert McCarthy, London, MS BM 1214a

Parent manuscript and sister leaves
Presently unknown.

LITERATURE
London, Sotheby’s, Western Manuscripts and Miniatures, 1 December 1998, lot 41; Gaudenz Freuler with Georgi Parpulov, The McCarthy Collection, Vol. 1, Italian and Byzantine Miniatures, London, 2018, no. 27.

We are grateful to Gaudenz Freuler for permission to quote from his catalogue for this entry, and we thank Senior Consultant Sandra Hindman and Peter Bovenmyer for their assistance in preparing this sale.

The Robert McCarthy Collection

This lot is located in Chicago.

Christopher Brink

Associate Vice President, Head of Sale, Senior Specialist, Books & Manuscripts

[email protected]312.334.4217

Darren Winston

SVP, Head of Department, Books and Manuscripts, Philadelphia

[email protected]267.414.1247

Darren Winston, Senior Vice President at Freeman’s, has served as Head of Department for Books & Manuscripts, Philadelphia, since 2018. He has been a trustee of the Rosenbach Museum and Library since 2022, is a member of The Manuscript Society, The Bibliographical Society of America, and Philadelphia’s Philobiblon Club.

Raised in northern New Jersey, Darren moved to New York City in 1988 and began his career there as a bookseller in 1995. He spent the next 18 years selling to private clients and at East Coast book fairs. In 2003 he moved with his young family to Sharon, Connecticut where, in 2009, he opened his own bookshop. Darren Winston, Bookseller offered rare and vintage books, prints, fine art, and more, and hosted over 50 book signings and art shows. He was a trustee and, later, Board President, of the Sharon Historical Society, and for six years a trustee of Indian Mountain School in Lakeville, Connecticut.

Darren has hosted the radio program "Darren Winston's Book Report" for NPR-affiliate WHDD since 2009, appeared in the 2014 book-themed documentary The Paper Trail, and in 2024 he joined Antiques Roadshow as a books and manuscripts appraiser. From 1999 to 2005, Darren was the buyer and consultant to the Fine and Rare Books Department at Asprey, the British luxury goods company, at its New York headquarters. While there he spearheaded various in-store events including readings by Salman Rushdie and Dominick Dunne.

In 1993, Darren was hired as a Creative Consultant to Columbia Records, where he assisted in the repackaging of their 12-record Aerosmith back catalogue. He later sold his extensive collection of Aerosmith memorabilia, which he began amassing at the age of 14, directly to the band.

Darren now lives on the Main Line, outside Philadelphia, with his wife, two children, and dog. The family travels frequently to his wife's native England and Scotland. When not bookselling, he plays guitar in Pumped, an Aerosmith tribute band. Darren also appears on the top-rated PBS television program Antiques Roadshow.

Sandra Hindman

Senior Consultant, Medieval and Renaissance Manuscript Illumination

[email protected]312 280 1212

Sandra Hindman, Senior Consultant, is a leading expert in Medieval and Renaissance manuscript illumination. Professor Emerita of Art History at Northwestern University, Professor Hindman is author, coauthor or editor of more than twelve books, as well as numerous articles on the history and reception of illuminated manuscripts and on medieval rings. She is a member of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America, the National Antique and Art Dealers Association of America, the Syndicat National de la Librairie Ancienne et Moderne, and the Syndicat National des Antiquaires,The Grolier Club and the Caston Club. In 2023, the French Republic named Sandra Hindman a Chevaliere de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters). She is the owner and CEO of Les Enluminures Paris Chicago and New York founded in 1991.

Western Manuscripts and Miniatures

EMILIA ILLUMINATORLeaf from an Antiphonary with a historiated initial ‘I’ depicting St. Augustine beneath a gothic canopy, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment [Italy, Emilia-Romagna, c. 1300–1325]

Lot Description

Condition Report

Preview

Auction Contact

Shipping | Pickup

EMILIA ILLUMINATOR
Leaf from an Antiphonary with a historiated initial ‘I’ depicting St. Augustine beneath a gothic canopy, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment [Italy, Emilia-Romagna, c. 1300–1325]