Western Manuscripts and Miniatures

Remnants of a lovely Book of Hours with refined draftsmanship, a luminous palette, and delicate borders characteristic of an elite Parisian workshop.
 
Dimensions: 170 × 110 mm (bifolium); 85 × 110 mm (leaves, with slight variations). Bifolium and three single leaves, ruled in red ink for a single column of fifteen lines (justification: 57 × 42 mm), later foliated in pencil in the lower right margins. Written in a gothic book hand in black ink, with rubrics in red; bar and floral line-fillers in red and blue with white penwork; one- and two-line initials in gold on blue and red grounds. All pages enriched with Parisian full borders of ivy-leaf rinceaux, strewn flowers, fruits, and gold bezants on hairline stems, ONE ILLUMINATED MINIATURE of seven lines, depicting Saint Genevieve, patron saint of Paris, holding a candle while a devil attempts to extinguish it and an angel rekindles it, set within the interior of a chapel. TWO FULL PAGE ILLUMINATED MINIATURES on single leaves depict the Annunciation and the Annunciation to the Shepherds, the Annunciation scene is further enriched with FOUR ILLUMINATED ROUNDELS showing scenes from the Life of the Virgin and a depiction of God the Father. Some losses to paint and gold leaf in the miniatures and initials; staining and wear to margins and, in places, to the written space; else in good condition.
 
Executed in Paris circa 1450–1470, this bifolium and the three leaves were illuminated by an artist working in close proximity to the circle of the Master of Jean Rolin II, a prominent painter active between about 1445 and 1465. Named for his work in a deluxe Book of Hours commissioned by Cardinal Jean Rolin (Vienna, ÖNB Cod. 1857), the artist is considered a key figure in the refinement of mid-century Parisian illumination. His atelier synthesized earlier courtly traditions with the emergent realism of the later fifteenth century, influencing a generation of artists working for both ecclesiastical and noble patrons
 
The bifolium (foliated “189” and “190” features a finely executed miniature of Saint Genevieve, whose unwavering piety triumphs over demonic interference—a scene emblematic of her legend. The image introduces the suffrage to Saint Genevieve (De saincte geneuiefue), followed by a two-line initial ‘O’ on a burnished gold ground with acanthus infill, opening the prayer O felix ancilla dei. The verso continues with a suffrage to Saint Apollonia, identified by rubric and a similarly ornamented text panel. Two additional full-page miniatures, painted in arch-topped formats, feature the Annunciation leaf (foliated “30”) for Matins of the Virgin with Mary and the Angel Gabriel, who holds a banderole inscribed Ave gratia plena, with the Dove of the Holy Spirit flying through an open window. Three roundels in the margins feature scenes from the life of the Virgin: the Virgin Weaving, the Birth of the Virgin, and the Meeting at the Golden Gate, and the fourth has God the Father. The Annunciation to the Shepherds (foliated “70”) opening Terce from the Hours of the Virgin depicts the angelic message delivered to shepherds in a verdant landscape with a city on the horizon. Each full-page miniature appears above four lines of text with an illuminated initial. The remaining leaf (foliated “105”) features portions of the Penitential Psalms (Miserere mei Deus, Psalm 50 and Deus Salutis Meae, Psalm 87).
 
The elegant figuration, richly gilded strewn-flower borders, and refined use of liquid gold exemplify the Parisian style shaped by this artist. The same hand appears to have contributed to a complete Book of Hours (Use of Paris) sold at Christie’s London on 23 November 2011, lot 3, with notable similarities in the modeling of figures and physiognomy. The sophistication of composition, detail, and palette seen in the present fragments reflect the enduring legacy of his workshop and its impact on Paris as a major center for luxury manuscript production.
 
Provenance
(1)Commissioned for a Parisian, possibly male, client with the Obsecro te (from sister leaf, lot 42) in the masculine form.
 
(2) Early modern monogram, perhaps “A. de B,” inscribed on first leaf of calendar (from sister leaf, 43).
 
(3) Private Collection, California, USA.
 
Sister leaves
Sister leaves offered in lot nos. 42 and 43; a sister leaf with the same crown-arched miniature format was sold at Christie’s (29 January 2015, lot 148), depicting St. Luke Painting the Virgin.
 
LITERATURE
Unpublished. For the Master of Jean Rolin II, see: François Avril and Nicole Reynaud, Les Manuscrits à peintures en France, 1440–1520, pp. 38–45; Jacqueline Schaefer, “Le Maître de Jean Rolin: Un atelier parisien vers 1450,” Revue de l’art 119 (1998), pp. 33–44; Eberhard König, Das Stundenbuch des Kardinals Jean Rolin, Munich, 2002.
 
We thank Senior Consultant Sandra Hindman and Peter Bovenmyer for their assistance in preparing this sale and Elliot Adam for consultation on this entry.