A richly decorated Bible leaf with an elaborate dragon-vine initial, exemplifying the grandeur and visual sophistication of twelfth-century lectern manuscripts.
 
c. 380 × 270 mm, single leaf ruled in plummet and written above top line in two columns of forty lines in a fine late protogothic bookhand, the adjacent letters “pp” and “po” generally remaining separate in the main text, while “pp” overlaps significantly in the rubric and running title, frequent use of ampersands but not Tironian “et,” capitals alternately in red and green with touches of a gold substitute (now largely oxidized). Large display capitals in red, including running titles and rubrics; ONE DECORATED INITIAL ‘T’ of four lines introducing the Oratio Abacuch prophetae (Habakkuk 3:2), formed of interlacing foliate and zoomorphic ornament in red, green, and blue, and a second initial marking the explicit. Recovered from a binding, with consequent staining, fading, creasing, rubbing, and surface wear, especially along former folds, but preserving the original layout and decoration.
 
This leaf comes from a monumental twelfth-century lectern Bible, possibly made in the Mosan region, and was made most likely for a major monastic or ecclesiastical institution to be used in communal reading in the choir or refectory. The ambitious scale and unusually rich decorative program reflect the importance of such lectern volumes as both functional liturgical books and expressions of institutional prestige. The principal initial is outlined in brown ink and incorporates a sophisticated hybrid form in which dragon and vegetal ornament merge into a single structure. Interior details, including the striations of the leaves and the articulation of the dragon’s wings, were added through precise linear drawing. A liquid gold pigment was then applied, apparently directly onto the parchment surface, to emphasize the principal forms of the initial, before most (though not all) of the remaining spaces were filled with vibrant grounds of blue, red, and green.
 
Provenance
(1) Used to cover a copy of a book whose spine title is now largely erased and difficult to read.
 
(2) Inscribed in a bold neat eighteenth(?)-century hand “Dégagement” (repeated much smaller immediately to the left of the initial).
 
(3) Sold anonymously at Sotheby’s, 6 December 2001, lot 9.

(4)  Robert McCarthy, London, MS BM 1347.
 
Parent manuscript and sister leaves
No other leaves or cuttings from the same manuscript have yet been recognized.
 
LITERATURE
Published: Sotheby’s, Western Manuscripts and Miniatures, 6 December 2001, lot 9; Peter Kidd, The McCarthy Collection, Vol. 3, French Miniatures, London, 2021, p. 31 no. 4.
 
We are grateful to Peter Kidd 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