Western Manuscripts and Miniatures

Three richly illuminated fragments—from Paris, Burgundy, and Northern France—capture the elegance, regional flair, and evolving artistry of fifteenth-century Books of Hours.
 
(i)Illuminated leaf from a Book of Hours, in Latin [France, Burgundy? c. 1475]

190 × 115 mm. Single leaf, ruled in red ink script with twenty-six lines per page (justification: 136 × 68 mm), written in brown ink in a lettre bâtarde, rubrics in blue (an unusual characteristic potentially pointing to a Burgundian origin), minor one-line initials painted in burnished gold and set on geometric grounds of either brown or blue, recto with two ornate two-line initials (‘C’ and ‘D’), painted in blue on red rectangular grounds entwined with delicate gold tendrils, verso with two additional two-line initials (‘O’ and ‘E’) on red grounds with gold tendrils, three-sided border frames the text on both recto and verso, filled with a profusion of pastel-toned floral designs – including acanthus leaves, roses, thistles, and morning glories – characteristic of late Burgundian illumination, line-endings are embellished with ragged staff motifs and multi-colored rectangular bar fillers. The leaf remains in above average condition (A+), with its colors and gilding remarkably well-preserved.
 
This leaf opens the Office of the Dead (De profundis) with striking two-line initials in blue on red grounds laced with gold tendrils; the verso continues with Psalms 132 and 133, marked by matching initials. The use of blue ink for the rubrics—a rare and luxurious choice—points to a Burgundian or Artois origin, echoing the palette and style of a slightly later manuscript held at the New York Public Library (MS 2557, from Artois). Gleaming one-line initials in gold sit on alternating blue and brown geometric grounds. Lavish three-sided borders bloom with soft-toned acanthus, roses, thistles, and morning glories, while the text is punctuated by ragged staff line-fillers.
 
Provenance
(1) Purchased by present owner from “TG” with catalog number 1901.

(2) Private Collection, California, USA.
 
Sister leaves
No other leaves from this parent manuscript have been documented.
 
(ii) Illuminated leaf from a Book of Hours, with historiated initial [Northern France, ca. 1470]

128 × 107 mm. Single leaf ruled in brown ink for single column of fifteen lines (justification: 91 × 60), written in a Gothic textualis in dark brown ink, four one-line initials executed in alternating red and blue ink, each infilled with tiny floral patterns on an embossed gold ground, ONE HISTORIATED INITIAL of two lines featuring an unidentified figure in contemporary dress, elaborate diagonal bar border with compressed acanthus leaves and other stylized foliage, accented with liquid gold. Notable loss to text but borders and illumination remain vibrant.
 
This leaf contains excerpts from Psalms 122–123, part of Sext from the Hours of the Virgin, introduced by a vibrant two-line historiated initial ‘N’ depicting an unidentified male figure in contemporary dress. Four one-line initials in red and blue, each infilled with delicate floral motifs on embossed gold grounds, ornament the text. An elegant diagonal bar border, filled with compressed acanthus, stylized foliage, and liquid gold, frames the page—an eye-catching feature characteristic of northern French workshops around 1470.
 
Provenance
(1) Maggs Brothers, Bulletin 1 (1962), no. 9.

(2) Marvin L. Colker Collection, London.

(3) Private Collection, California, USA.
 
Sister leaves
Some companion leaves from the same manuscript were dispersed in the Maggs Brothers sale (1962), but their current locations are unknown. A sister leaf is illustrated (Plate II) in R. Lister’s The Miniature Defined (Cambridge, 1963). Another leaf was recently sold at Galerie Bassenge in Paris in Auktion 123, Lot 2902, on 17 April 2024.
 
(iii) Illuminated bifolium from a Book of Hours [France, Paris, c. 1450]

152 × 110 mm. Bifolium, ruled in red ink for single column of fifteen lines (justification: 87 × 58 mm), foliated “148–149” in lower right margin, with additional pagination running “277–280” above columns, written in dark brown ink in a regular Gothic bookhand, each page opens with one- or two-line initials painted in pink or blue with white penwork, infilled with contrasting colors and heightened in burnished gold, line-fillers alternate in pink, blue, and gold, decorated with geometric scrolls or foliate motifs, borders are illuminated on the outer margins of each page with full panels of acanthus sprays, fruiting vines, and gold bezants set against a dense black ink trellis, with foliage in red, blue, green, and orange. Light wear to parchment, pigments and gold remain luminous.
 
The decoration, precision of script, and floral palette point to production in Paris or northeastern France around 1450. The bifolium contains Psalms 24–25, from the Hours of the Virgin at Prime. The script, floral borders, and palette closely follow manuscripts produced by the Parisian workshops such as the Jean Hancelin (Dunois Master) and Bedford ateliers active in the mid-fifteenth century.
 
Provenance
(1) Foliated in modern pencil and paginated in a slightly older pen ink. Dealer or lot number 20 in gutter.

(2) Private Collection, California, USA.
 
Sister leaves
No other leaves from this parent manuscript have been documented.
 
We thank Senior Consultant Sandra Hindman and Peter Bovenmyer for their assistance in preparing this sale.