Beschreibung:

BIBLE with the Prologues attributed to St Jerome and the Interpretation of Hebrew names, in Latin, ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM [Naples, third quarter of the 13th century and Milan, mid-15th century] Illuminated by the Maître de la Bible de Manfred et le Maître d'Ippoliton. 200 x 130mm. 411 leaves: 1 6(of 12, lacking i, iii, iv, ix, x and xii), 2-8 1 2, 9 1 0(of 12, lacking iv and ix), 10-13 1 2, 14 1 1, 15-16 1 0, 17 4, 18 8(of 12, lacking i, ii, xi and xii), 19-33 1 2, 34 1 1(of 12, xii cancelled blank), 35 1 1(of 12, lacking i), 36 1 0, 37 8(of 10, ix and x cancelled blanks), modern pencil foliation followed here, catchwords at lower edge of final versos, two columns of 52 lines written in black ink in a small gothic bookhand between four verticals and 53 horizontals ruled in plummet, justification: 120 x 82mm, an additional pair of horizontals for running headings; gatherings 15-17: 49 lines written in brown ink in a small round gothic bookhand between four scored verticals and 50 horizontals ruled in pale brown, justification: 120 x 82mm, rubrics in red, versal initials touched red, versal initials in the Psalter, letters of running headings and chapter numbers alternately of red or blue, chapter and prologue initials alternately of red or blue with extensive flourishing of the contrasting colour, guide letters for chapter numbers and initials in central gutter, SIXTY-NINE ILLUMINATED INITIALS, many including dragons and several with birds or other beasts, all painted in rich greens, blues, pink and yellow, and EIGHT HISTORIATED INTIALS of the same forms and colours but with burnished gold grounds (first folio rubbed causing some loss of ink, a few folios with repaired marginal cuts, dampstaining at the very edge of most upper margins, small stains in lower third of ff.100v and 101, initial smudged on f.279v). ITALIAN 15TH-CENTURY CRIMSON VELVET CLOTH OF GOLD OVER WOODEN BOARDS, edges gilt and painted to a diaper pattern (worn and restored, lacking bosses and clasps). Red morocco box. AN EXCEPTIONAL ITALIAN BIBLE ILLUMINATED BY TWO COURT ARTISTS PROVENANCE: 1. The manuscript is the work of the illuminator who decorated a Bible in the Vatican (Ms Vat.lat.36), which has a scribal dedication revealing that it was made between 1250 and 1258 for Manfred, son of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Sicily. This illuminator, known therefore as the Master of the Bible of Manfred, is believed to have had an atelier in Naples whose principal patrons were the imperial court. The flourish initials of the present manuscript can be related to those in another Bible, also attributable to this atelier (Paris, BnF, Ms lat.40), that have been identified as by the same illuminator as those in the most celebrated manuscript made for Manfred, his copy of Frederick II's treatise De venandi cum avibus (Vatican, Ms Pal.lat.1071): F. Avril, Dix siècles d'enluminure italienne (1984), pp.53-54. 2. The book of Psalms was supplied in the middle of the 15th century. It may have been the case that the manuscript was originally copied without the Psalter - as so many contemporary English Bibles were - or, that by that date it was so heavily used that it seemed necessary to replace it. The replacement section, written in an elegant round script, opens with an initial of David harping painted by the Ippolita Master. This illuminator is named after the manuscripts he decorated for Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, and his wife Bianca Maria Visconti to present to their daughter Ippolita on her marriage in 1465 to Alfonso of Calabria, son and heir of Ferrante I of Aragon, King of Naples. Perhaps the alliance between the houses of Naples and of Milan was the direct means of joining the work of an illuminator patronised by a prince in southern Italy in the 13th century with that of an illuminator patronised by princes in northern Italy two centuries later. The inclusion of the new Book of Psalms necessitated the rebinding of the manuscript. It