Beschreibung:

BOOK OF HOURS, use of Rome, in Latin, ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM
BOOK OF HOURS, use of Rome, in Latin, ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM [southern Netherlands, probably Bruges, c.1450s] 180 x 126mm. 119 leaves: 1 6 , 2-3 8 , 4 7 (final blank cancelled), 5-14 8 , 15 1 0 , 16 4 (of 6, ii a modern blank replacement), FOURTEEN LARGE MINIATURES WITH FULL BORDERS OF LEAVES AND FLOWERS, TWELVE SMALL MINIATURES with bar borders and sprays in upper and lower margins, three-line foliate initials with bar borders and sprays, two-line initials of burnished gold on decorated grounds of pink and blue, one-line initials alternately of burnished gold and blue with black and red pen-work flourishing, line-fillers of blue and gold (calendar lacking leaf with February and March, outer margin of f.4 excised and replaced, some smudging and water staining, corner cut out of f.118, occasional small losses to burnished gold and slight cropping of borders.) 18th-century brown calf gilt (slightly scuffed). PROVENANCE: The style of illumination is consistent with conventions of book production in Bruges in the mid-15th century: the set of arms on f.52v are those of an early owner, likely a husband and wife, the first gules a bend azure with three crosses bottony or , the second party per pale of the same and vert a bend wavy argent . The former arms are unidentified, but the latter -- those belonging to the wife -- could belong to the Bavarian families of Otterbach or Raush auf Füschendorff & Lienlass or the Dunegond family from Angoulême; a 16th-century erased inscription on f.1r points to later monastic use: canonicae Al[b]ensis , perhaps Alba Dominae (Witte-Vrouven) in Utrecht; modern bookstamp, 'Ex Libris Kohler-Jau'. CONTENT: Calendar, use of Rome ff.1-6; Gospel extracts ff.7-10; Hours of the Cross ff.10v-4v; Hours of the Holy Spirit ff.15-8; Mass of the Virgin ff.19-22; Obsecro te and O intemerata ff.23-7; Suffrages ff.27-9v; Office of the Virgin ff.30-77v; Seven Penitential Psalms ff.78-91; Office of the Dead ff.92-119v. ILLUMINATION: AN APPEALING EXAMPLE OF SOUTHERN NETHERLANDISH ILLUMINATION. The lively anecdotal scenes and bright palette uniting miniature with surrounding border show their debt to the Masters of the Gold Scrolls, the dominant style of illumination in Bruges around 1420 to 1450. Although the decorative backgrounds that gave the Masters their name do not feature in the present manuscript, here -- as if as an alternative -- an additional decorative element is provided by the gold patterning of drapery. This individuality, the composition of the scenes and the red-lipped figures with their prominent Adam's apples and naïf features closely resemble the work of the artist responsible for the illumination of the Rossdhu Book of Hours in Auckland (Med.Ms G146). The subjects of the large miniatures are as follows: Christ as man of sorrows f.10v Pentecost f.15 Virgin and Child enthroned with angels f.19 The Agony in the Garden f.30 The Arrest of Christ f.42 Christ before Pilate f.49v Flagellation f.53 Christ carrying the cross f.56 The Crucifixion f.59 The Deposition f.62 The Laying in the Tomb f.67v; The Coronation of the Virgin f.71v; The Last Judgement f.78; Vigils of the Dead f.92 The small miniatures are on ff. 7, 7v, 8v, 9v, 23, 27, 27v, 28 x2, 28v, 29, 30. The coat of arms is on f.52v.