Western Manuscripts and Miniatures

Originating from a renowned monastic scriptorium, the Book of Hours also offers valuable insight into the important role of female illuminators in the Northern Netherlands.

105 mm × 150 mm, iii (modern paper + 1 vellum) + 88 + iii (modern paper) leaves, foliated in a modern hand in pencil 1–88, fractionally cropped, lacking calendar as well as several leaves after f. 18, f. 26, and f. 52 [collation: i8, ii8, iii8, iv8, v8, vi8, vii8, viii8, ix8, x8, xi8], ruled in brown ink in one column of 19 lines (justification: 90 mm × 65 mm), written in a textura quadrata script with sixteenth-century additions to f. 55r–55v, capitals in red and blue ink with penwork embellishments added to versos, 22 ILLUMINATED INITIALS of three lines in burnished gold on blue ground with lilac infill, these accompanied by text bars in blue and lilac outlined in burnished gold and floral borders with gold bezants, 3 HISTORIATED INITIALS of twelve lines in blue, green, and sable with acanthus filagree and gold outline, accompanied with a full compartmented border of acanthus sprouts, colored flowers, birds, and gold bezants in gold frames. Bound in 1988 by Denis Couey in green Morocco binding tooled with leaf and floral patterns, five flyleaves of modern paper plus a vellum leaf ruled for 15 lines. Minor cockling, stains, and discoloration throughout, borders excised from ff. 7, 11, 13, 31, 35, 37, and 43, else in good condition.
 
Provenance
(1) Written and illuminated in Groningen, likely at Selwerd abbey with illumination completed by a secular atelier. Memorials included to Saint Erasmus (f. 82), 10,000 Martyrs (f. 83), and 11,000 Virgins (f. 84v), all venerated in Groningen.

(2) Early ownership inscription on f. 18v of “Sr Agnes Ten Dassest” suggesting monastic provenance in the sixteenth century.

(3) Hymn to Christ in German added to f. 88 in late seventeenth or early eighteenth-century hand.

(4) Armorial bookplate of Jay Bucknell Lippincott (1872–1920) of the Lippincott Publishing House, Philadelphia, PA and ticket of Thomas V. Paul, Antiquarian Bookseller of Philadelphia, PA.

(5) Sotheby’s London, Western Manuscripts and Miniatures, June 23, 1987, lot 124.

(6) Collection of Dr. Scott Schwartz, New York, his bookplate and catalog number “MS 27” on front pastedown.

Text
Incomplete, lacking Calendar, Litanies, and Hours of the Virgin. ff. 1r–18v, Hours of the Holy Spirit; ff. 19r–26v, Hours of Eternal Wisdom; ff. 27r–45v, Short Hours of the Cross; ff. 46r–56v, Penitential Psalms; ff. 57r–81r, Office of the Dead; ff. 81v–87r Memorials (Saint Erasmus: f. 82r, 10,000 Martyrs: f. 83v, 11,000 Virgins: 87r).

Illumination
Previously attributed to workshops in Arnhem, this manuscript is now securely localized to Groningen, the product of collaboration between the Selwerd Abbey scriptorium and an as-yet unidentified secular workshop known to have produced commissions for the Abbey. The twenty-two minor initials exhibit hallmark Selwerd characteristics: burnished gold set against lilac and blue grounds, framed by delicate sprays of gold leaves on black penwork tendrils extending into the margins. This decorative style has been associated with the nun Agnes Martini, an illuminator active at Selwerd, although it remains unclear whether she was solely responsible for this distinctive palette and ornament (van Schaik 2021). Additional features, including pen flourishes within the text, suggest that the manuscript was also written at Selwerd. Following its incorporation into the reformist Congregation of Bursfeld, Selwerd Abbey developed a flourishing scriptorium in the final decades of the fifteenth century, producing manuscripts for external ecclesiastical and secular patrons. Approximately forty manuscripts dating between 1468 and 1510 have been identified from this scriptorium, attesting to its brief but significant period of activity (Hermans 1991; As-Vijvers 2012).
 
The three historiated initials were likely executed in Groningen by a yet unidentified secular atelier associated with the Abbey. The borders, adorned with florals, birds, and leafy acanthus stems, reflect Southern Netherlandish influences, while the Hell Mouth miniature for the Office of the Dead (f. 57r)—marked by its snub nose and staring eyes—closely parallels compositions found in Victoria and Albert Museum, MS Reid 33, a manuscript securely linked to Groningen and Selwerd. Similar iconography appears in related works from the region, including The Hague, Koninklijke Bibliotheek MS 131 G 5 and Oxford, Bodleian Library MS Douce 30 (Budde and Krischel 2001, 550). The prototype for this variant of the Hell Mouth, widely favored in the Northern Netherlands, ultimately derives from the Master of the Hours of Catherine of Cleves (c. 1440), whose workshop served patrons in Utrecht from the late 1430s to the 1450s.

The subjects of the three historiated initials are: f. 1, Pentecost scene with Virgin, Apostles, and Dove in 12-line historiated initial ‘H’ (for the Hours of the Holy Spirit); f. 46, David Penitent with harp in a landscape with castle in 12-line historiated initial ‘H’ (for Penitential Psalms); f. 57, Purgatory scene with souls wreathed in flames inside Hell Mouth in 12-line historiated initial ‘M’ (for Office of the Dead). 

LITERATURE
Unpublished; Related Literature: A. W. Byvanck and G. J. Hoogewerff, Noord-Nederlandsche miniaturen in handschriften der 14e, 15e en 16e eeuwen, The Hague, 1925, pp. 62–63; Jos. H. Hermans, Middeleeuwse handschriften uit Groninger kloosters, Groningen, 1988; Jos. H. Hermans, “Glimpses from the North: Selwerd and Thesinge, Two Workshops in Groningen (c. 1470–c. 1530),” in Masters and Miniatures: Proceedings of the Congress on Medieval Manuscript Illumination in the Northern Netherlands, ed. Koert van der Horst and Johann-Christian Klamt, Doornspijk, 1991, pp. 347–57; A. S. Korteweg, Kriezels, Aubergines En Takkenbossen: Randversiering in Noordnederlandse Handschriften Uit de Vijftiende Eeuw, Zutphen, 1992, p. 142; Rainer Budde and Roland Krischel, eds. Genie ohne Namen: Der Meister des Bartholomiius-Altars, Cologne, 2001, pp. 550–551, cat. 150; Paul Binski, Patrick Zutshi, and Stella Panayotova, Western Illuminated Manuscripts: A Catalogue of the Collection in Cambridge University Library, Cambridge, 2011 pp. 467–69, cat. 84; Anne Margreet As-Vijvers, “Middeleeuwse handschriften uit Groningse kloosters: Een kwart eeuw later,” in Illuminatie, illustratie, boekband en bibliotheek in de noordelijke Nederlanden, Antwerp, 2012, pp. 13–33. Remi van Schaik, “Vrouwen met pen en penseel: Boekproductie in Groninger kloosters, in H. van Engen, H. Nijdam, en K. van Vliet, eds, Macht, bezit en ruimte: Opstellen over de noordelijke Nederlanden in de middeleeuwen, aangeboden aan Hans Mol bij zijn afscheid als bijzonder hoogleraar Geschiedenis van de Friese landen in de Middeleeuwen aan de Universiteit Leiden, Hilversum, 2021, pp. 77–80, 385–389, 411–427.

We thank Senior Consultant Sandra Hindman and Peter Bovenmyer for their assistance in preparing this sale and James Marrow for consultation on this entry.

Collection of Dr. Scott Schwartz