Beschreibung:

BOOK OF HOURS, use of Tournai, in Latin and French, ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM
BOOK OF HOURS, use of Tournai, in Latin and French, ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM [Tournai or Bruges, c.1430] 190 x 145mm. 197 leaves: 1-2 6 , 3-4 2 , 5 9 (of 8, i an added singleton), 6 5 (v a singleton), 7 8 , 8 4 , 9-13 8 , 14 7 (of 8, lacking viii), 15 4 , 16 7 (of 8, final blank cancelled), 17 7 (of 8, lacking i), 18 5 (of 6, final blank cancelled), 19 8 , 20 3 (of 4, lacking iv), 21 3 (of 8, lacking ii, iv, v, vii and viii), 22 3 (of 4, final blank cancelled), 23-24 8 , 25 4 , 26-31 8 , likely the eight lacking leaves with miniatures, 17 lines written in black ink in a gothic bookhand, rubrics in red, one- and two-line initials of burnished gold on grounds and infills of pink and blue, the two-line initials with sprays of golden leaves into the margin, line-fillers of the same colours, four-line initials with staves of pink or blue against grounds of burnished gold with sprays of trefoils in the infill, FIFTEEN LARGE ARCH-TOPPED MINIATURES WITH FULL-PAGE BORDERS made up of a baguette surrounded by sprays of fruit and flowers and acanthus leaves interspersed with hairline tendrils with golden leaves, added section at beginning with LARGE MINIATURE AND HISTORIATED INITIAL (slight offsetting from borders, some darkening of vellum, especially to gutters and first leaf, occasional spotting or stains, minor smudging to several borders, tiny pigment losses on three miniatures and small losses from sky and Virgin's halo in Flight into Egypt, face of soldier deliberately smudged in Massacre of Innocents, abrasion to surface of mourner's robe in Office of the Dead). English 18th-century morocco gilt bordered with a double fillet and tools including a thistle, a pomegranate and a lily, spine gilt in five compartments (extremities rubbed). PROVENANCE: The Office of the Virgin is for the use of Tournai and the feasts of St Piat, patron of the city (1 October) and the translation of St Eloy's relics (25 June), celebrated in Tournai, are entered in red in the Calendar. Obsecro te and O intemerata , ff.113-120 are in the feminine form. CONTENT: Calendar ff.1-12; sequence of prayers, 15th-century addition opening with a prayer to be said on entering a church or cemetery, 'Avete omnes anime xpi fideles' and ending with the Seven prayers of St Gregory ff.13-16; Hymn, 'Veni creator spiritus', 15th-century addition ff.17r & v; Hours of the Cross ff.18-24v; Hours of the Holy Spirit ff.25-30; Mass of the Virgin ff.31-36v; Gospel Extracts ff.37-41v; prayers to the Virgin ff.41v-42; Office of the Virgin, use of Tournai ff.43-93v: matins f.43, lauds f.53v, prime f.64v, terce f.70v, sext 74v, none 78v, vespers f.82v, compline, lacking opening f.90; Psalms and antiphons ff.94-100v; sequence of prayers and devotions in Latin and French, lacking opening ff.101-122v; Suffrages to Sts John the Baptist and John the Evangelist, Christopher, lacking opening, Fiacre, lacking leaf before Margaret, Magdalene, lacking end and a prayer to Elizabeth of Hungary, St Anne, lacking opening, St Genevieve, Germain, lacking opening, St Martin, Cosmas and Damian ff.123-128v; added prayer to St Avoye f.129; Seven Penitential Psalms and Litany ff.130-149v; Office of the Dead ff.150-197. ILLUMINATION: Although the manuscript was made for a lady for use in Tournai the style of the illumination more usually indicates an origin in Flanders. Known from the decorative backgrounds to the miniatures as the Masters of the Gold Scrolls, the artists working in this style were the leading providers of book illumination in Bruges from around 1420 to 1450. They served a varied clientele and decorated books for the home market and for export. Three other 'Gold Scrolls' manuscripts for Tournai use are known although they are not the work of this artist. Manuscripts illuminated in the style vary widely in date and size, and especially in the lavishness and the care with which the illumination was executed. The present example shows a rare delicacy and refinement in the finish of