Rare Book Auction
Friday, 22 July - Thursday, 11 August 2022

Breviary in Latin - Illuminated Manuscript On Vellum In Latin (North East Italy Second Half 15th Century)

Lot Details

95 x 65mm, ii paper + 331 + ii paper leaves 1-4 (10), 5 (8) (of 10 lacking iii and iv) 6-8 (10), 9 (6) (of 8, vii and viii cancelled blanks), 10 (9) (of 10 lacking i), 11-23 (10), 24 (9) (of 10 lacking iii, 25-30 (10), 31-32 (8), 33-34 (10), 35 (3), catchwords in lower margins of final versos, some early and modern signatures, 29 lines in two columns written in a gothic bookhand in brown ink between four verticals and 30 horizontals ruled in brown, rubrics in red, blue paragraph marks, one-line initials alternately in in blue and red, two-line initials alternately in blue extensively flourished with red and in red flourished with violet, 21 three to five-line initials in gold on divided grounds of blue and green or in colours on burnished gold grounds, some with purple and green acanthus leaves extending into the margins, all with burnished gold disks lined by hairline tendrils, 11 large initials of similar type leading to a burnished gold bar terminating in coloured acanthus and burnished gold disks on hairline sprays, one large historiated initial with pink staves on a burnished gold ground leading to a burnished gold bar enclosing the text with a full border of acanthus in pink, green and blue flowing from a renaissance pedestal flanked by two putti (lacking four leaves, some text faded, opening leaf with full border worn, initials on ff. 32v, 113v, 193 and 293 rubbed). 19th century brown leather binding by James Toovey, with his stamp on first added paper leaf (joints split, worn). Ex Christies, London, Lot 50, 4th June, 2008.