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 [western France, ?Angers, c.1460-65]121 x 86mm. 212 leaves: 1 9 (of 10, lacking i), 2 9 (of 8 + i), 3-11 8 , 12 6 (of 8, lacking vii and viii), 13 1 0 (of 8 + i and x), 14-22 8 , 23 4 , 24-25 8 , 26 6 (of 8, lacking iii and iv), 27 8 , some small catchwords in lower margins of final versos, twelve lines written in a brown ink in lettre bâtarde between two verticals and 13 horizontals, justification 51 x 38mm, rubrics in red, one- and two-line initials in liquid gold on grounds of red and blue with infills patterned in liquid gold, some with angels, EVERY PAGE WITH A FULL BORDER of flowers, fruit and foliage inhabited by people, wild men, grotesques, beasts, birds and a Dance of Death, TWENTY LARGE ARCH-TOPPED MINIATURES WITH FULL BORDERS OF SIMILAR TYPE, many with additional figures and scenes, TWO LARGE MINIATURES IN FULL-PAGE ARCHITECTURAL FRAMES, TWELVE FULL-PAGE MINIATURES, incorporating text on scrolls (wear to some miniatures and a few borders, rodent damage to upper corners ff.1-24, slightly trimmed into tops of some miniature frames and to sides of ff.11 and 76v). Modern burgundy velvet over wooden boards, metal clasp. Brown solander box. A TREASURY OF FRENCH ILLUMINATION INCORPORATING THE INNOVATIONS OF JEAN FOUQUET PROVENANCE: This is the major section of a grandly illuminated Book of Hours, localisable to western France, probably Angers that was apparently divided in the 15th century, the date of the binding on the 66 leaves of prayers in Paris (BnF, ms lat.1405), known as the Hours of Mary Queen of Scots from the 17th-century inscription that it was owned by 'Marie Stuhart rege d'A.' with an 18th-century correction to 'de Marie Stuart Reine d'Ecosse'. The relationship of the two sections was first recognised by Eberhard König, see F. Avril and N. Reynaud, Les manuscrits à peintures en France 1440-1520 , 1993, p.123. The complete manuscript was probably commissioned by someone connected to King René of Anjou, who was also Count of Provence: Provence is evoked by the accurate depiction of the Magdalene's hermitage at the Ste-Baume, f.206, and the appearance of her sister Martha with the dragon of Tarascon, f.210v, and of the Virgin's half-sisters who accompanied them to Provence, f.207v. Their cult, centred at what became Les-Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, was fostered by King René. The patron of Angers cathedral, St Maurice, is also honoured with a suffrage. Court affiliations are reinforced by the rare inclusion of St Peter Celestine in the litany: the Celestine order had come to France under royal patronage and the Celestine house in Paris, founded by Charles V, continued to be supported by the royal family. Angevins were prominent at the French court, at this date based in the Loire region, adjacent to the Angevin heartlands. The daughter of King Charles VII, Jeanne, Duchess of Bourbon, and Louis of Anjou, legitimated son of Charles, count of Maine, were among those owning Books of Hours of similar format by the same circle of illuminators ( Splendeur de l'enluminure, le roi René et ses livres , 2009, this ms pp.142, 376). CONTENT: Gospel extracts ff.1-10; Office of the Virgin, use of Rome, interspersed with the Hours of the Cross and Holy Spirit ff.11-106: matins of the Virgin f.11, lauds of the Virgin f.37, matins of the Cross f.54v, and then following the office of the Virgin for each hour, matins of the Holy Spirit f.56v, and then following the Hours of the Cross for each hour, prime of the Virgin f.58v, terce of the Virgin f.65, sext of the Virgin 71, none of the Virgin f.76v, vespers of the Virgin f.82v, compline of the Virgin f.91v, calendar variants f.97; Penitential Psalms and Litany ff.107-136; Office of the Dead, use of Rome ff.136v-182; Suffrages, ff. 183-212v: to the Trinity f.183, God the Father f.186, to Sts John the Baptist f.189v, John the Evangelist f.190v, Peter and Paul f.191v, Maurice f.193, Sebastian f.194v, Christopher f.1