A blend of Parisian elegance with emerging Flemish realism characterizes this luxurious leaf from a Book of Hours.

147 × 100 mm (visible in frame). Single leaf, ruled in brown for single column of fourteen lines (justification: 85 × 55 mm) no foliation visible, written in a small Gothic book hand in black ink, two text bars of burnished gold on blue and red ground with white tracery decoration, four single-line initials in burnished gold on alternating blue and red ground with white tracery infill, borders with panel-style decoration composed of densely scrolling acanthus foliage rendered in blue, red, and lavender hues with subtle white highlighting and lobed forms that extend vertically and horizontally along the margins, background filled with hairline tendrils terminating in gold bezants and small floral or berry motifs, large vegetal spray anchors the page on bottom left, all framed by a gold bar to left of text column. Stain to lower left margin, slight cockling of the parchment, else in good condition. Complete with frame with 20th century calligraphic inscription “Book of Hours, Franco-Flemish, XVth century” with two decorative flowers painted to right and left.
 
This leaf from a Book of Hours contains the canticle of Hezekiah from the hour of Lauds from the Office of the Dead: Tu autem Domine eruisti animam meam ut non periret. The borders are reminiscent of those produced around Amiens in the middle of the fifteenth century with coiling vegetal sprays terminating in lavender and red, seen especially in works by the Master of Walters W. 281 and his circle, best known for the Malet-Lannoy Hours (Baltimore, Walters Art Museum, W. 281), a richly decorated Book of Hours created circa 1420–1440. The Malet-Lannoy Hours reflects the artist's refined style and iconographic innovation, characterized by delicate figures, intricate floral borders, and vibrant color palettes that synthesized Parisian elegance and emerging Flemish realism. His influence extended through a workshop or circle of artists, as seen in the Book of Hours (Walters MS W. 262), produced around 1435–1440 in Amiens for a female patron.

Provenance
(1) Originally from a Book of Hours created most likely in Amiens, France based on the style of border decorations.

(2) Private Collection.

LITERATURE
Unpublished; for illumination in Amiens see: Susie Nash, Between France and Flanders: Manuscript Illumination in Amiens in the Fifteenth Century, London, 1999.

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