Intimate Book of Hours made for a nun, probably in a Florentine convent of the Poor Clares

171 leaves, preceded and followed by a modern blank parchment flyleaf, complete [collation: i–ii⁶, iii–xvi⁸, xvii⁶, xviii¹²⁻¹, xix¹⁰, xx¹², xxi⁸], written in an Italian humanist script in brown ink, on 15–16 long lines per page in a single hand up to f. 129v, then two different hands respectively ff. 129v–131 and ff. 132–169, ruled in blind (justification: 65 mm × 50 mm), rubricated, initials in gold leaf with red and blue penwork, two- to five-line colored initials with rich geometric and floral decoration, four full-border decorations with historiated initials and borders of acanthus with gold leaves, putti, birds, a swan, initials with floral motifs, Christian symbols, and half-length figures. Bound in modern dark red velvet over boards, preserving original head- and footbands, green silk ribbon marker, in beautiful condition throughout. Dimensions 110 mm × 75 mm.

Provenance
(1) The original owner was probably a member of a Franciscan convent. The calendar is clearly intended for Franciscan use, with many Franciscan saints included and often written in red, including the relatively rare Saint Elzéar, whose wife Delphine was a member of the Third Order of Saint Francis. A dating of the manuscript to around c. 1450 is supported by the inclusion of the Dominican Saint Vincent Ferrer, canonized by Pope Calixtus III in 1455 and the Augustinian hermit Nicholas of Tolentino canonized a year later, followed by Bernardine of Siena in 1450. A date around the middle of the Quattrocento thus seems likely, a conclusion that corresponds with the style of the manuscript’s illumination. The Litany further supports a Franciscan context, including Louis of Toulouse, Francis, Anthony of Padua, Bernardine of Siena, and Clare, and the manuscript also contains prayers to Francis, Bernardine, and Clare. The manuscript was almost certainly owned by a woman, probably a nun in a Franciscan convent, most likely a community of Poor Clares. This is confirmed by references to sisters within the text, including “[...] beato Francischo, beate Clare et omnibus sanctis et vobis sorores...” (f. 162v), and again “vos sorores” (f. 163). Although there is nothing specifically Florentine in the textual contents of the manuscript, the illumination conforms closely to manuscript production in Florence around the middle of the fifteenth century.

(2) Sotheby’s, London, 3 July 1984, lot 88.

(3) Subsequently Reiss & Auvermann, Katalog 32, Glashütten im Taunus, 1985, no. 7.

(4) Private Collection, Germany (exhibited and published by Plotzek 1987, no. 30).

(5) Private European Collection.

Text
ff. 1–12v, Calendar, written in black and red, including the Translation of Saint Anthony of Padua, in red (15 February), Saint Vincent Ferrer (5 April), the Translation of Saint Bernardine of Siena, in red (17 May), among other Franciscan feasts; ff. 13–67v, Hours of the Virgin (Use of Rome; Matins f. 13, Lauds f. 20v, Prime f. 30v, Terce f. 34v, Sext f. 37, None f. 40, Vespers f. 42v, and Compline f. 49); ff. 68–87, Seven Penitential Psalms and Litany, including Saints Francis (f. 80) and Clare (f. 80v); ff. 87–125, Office of the Dead (Use of Rome); ff. 125–131, Office of the Passion; f. 131v, blank; ff. 132–157, miscellaneous hymns, prayers, and canticles, written in another hand, beginning with the Ambrosian hymn Iam lucis orto sidere Deum… (“Now that the star of light has risen”); ff. 157–169, Suffrages, including Saints Stephen, Benedict, Francis, and Clare; f. 169v, blank.

Illumination
When Joachim Plotzek exhibited and published the present manuscript in 1987 (no. 30, pp. 155–57), he rightly called attention to the rich border decoration characteristic of Florentine manuscript illumination of the second quarter of the fifteenth century, including that produced by the workshop of Santa Maria degli Angeli. He specifically compared the borders with those in a manuscript of the Monarchia sive tractatus de potestate imperatoris et papae, dated 1437 and made for the jurist Antonio Roselli (Paris, BnF, MS lat. 4237; see Avril and Zaluska 1984, no. 98, pp. 115ff.). Indeed, the comparison is a compelling one. In both manuscripts, we find similar plump, colorful acanthus leaves joined with fantastic birds of paradise, inhabited by finely drawn putti, and further enriched by clusters of triple gold dots. For the historiated initials, Plotzek suggested comparison with the style of Filippo di Matteo Torelli, an illuminator active from 1440 to 1468 who painted books for the Duomo and San Marco in Florence. It seems to us, however, that the illumination bears even closer similarities to the artist responsible for the Roselli codex cited above: Bartolomeo d’Antonio Varnucci, a contemporary of Torelli. Bartolomeo likewise painted choir books for the Duomo, as well as numerous other, mostly liturgical, manuscripts during his long career.

Bartolomeo (documented from 1410; d. 1479) came from a family of artists and worked first with his brother Giovanni and later with his younger brother Chimenti. He is known for his volumetric treatment of figures and his densely hatched rendering of landscapes, beards, and hair. Frequently collaborating with other illuminators, he worked primarily on liturgical manuscripts, but also produced Books of Hours. Among his best-known works is the lavish four-volume Lectionary (Florence, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, MSS Edili 141–147), whose rich decorative program was executed in collaboration with Battista di Niccolò da Padova and Ser Ricciardo di Nanni. The initials of Saint Zenobius and Pope Gregory attributed to Bartolomeo in this Lectionary (A. Dillon Bussi 1997, figs. 28 and 30) compare closely with the figure of King David (f. 68) in the present Book of Hours. All three initials share finely modeled faces, graceful hands, and green backgrounds enlivened with yellow scrollwork. See also the Missal attributed to him by De Floriani (1996).

The miniature of the Virgin and Child at the opening of the present Book of Hours may perhaps be by a different hand. Likewise, the attribution of the final two miniatures—the skull and the image of the Cross—is difficult to determine with certainty, given their absence of figural detail. Nevertheless, if Varnucci directed the illumination of this charming Book of Hours, he may well have entrusted portions of its execution to members of what must have been an active and flourishing workshop.

The subjects of the four historiated initials are: f. 13, Virgin and Child (initial D[omine]); f. 68, King David Playing the Harp (initial D[omine]); f. 87, Half-length Figure of a Skeleton (initial D[ilexi]); f. 125, Instruments of the Passion of Christ (initial D[omine]).

LITERATURE
Published: Joachim M. Plotzek, Andachtsbücher des Mittelalters aus Privatbesitz, exhibition catalogue, Cologne, 1987, no. 30, pp. 155–57; Related literature: François Avril and Yolanta Zaluska, Dix siècles d’enluminure italienne (VIe–XVIe siècles), Paris, 1984, no. 98, pp. 115–16; Anna De Floriani, “Per Bartolomeo Varnucci: un messale e alcune precisazioni,” Miniatura 5–6 (1996), pp. 49–60; Anna Dillon Bussi, “La miniatura quattrocentesca per il Duomo di Firenze: prime indagini e alcune novità,” in I libri del Duomo di Firenze: Codici liturgici e Biblioteca di Santa Maria del Fiore (secoli XI–XVI), Florence, 1997, pp. 79, 89, 91; Francesca Pasut, “Bartolomeo d’Antonio Varnucci,” in Dizionario biografico dei miniatori italiani: Secoli IX–XVI, edited by Milvia Bollati, Florence: Sylvestre Bonnard, 2004, pp. 979–982; Angela Dillon Bussi, “Albinia C. de la Mare, Vespasiano da Bisticci e la miniatura: Il caso di Bartolomeo Varnucci,” in Palaeography, Manuscript Illumination and Humanism in Renaissance Italy: Studies in Memory of A. C. de la Mare, ed. Robert Black, Jill Kraye, and Laura Nuvoloni, London, 2016, pp. 323–32; Daniele Guernelli, “Aggiornamenti su Bartolomeo Varnucci,” Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 84 (2021), 325–64. 

We thank Senior Consultant Sandra Hindman and Peter Bovenmyer for their assistance in preparing this sale.