Beschreibung:

Evrart De Conty, Les problèmes d'Aristote , single leaf with miniature to Partie XI , ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM
Evrart De Conty, Les problèmes d'Aristote , single leaf with miniature to Partie XI , ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM [Paris, c.1400] 406 x 282mm, the miniature 94 x 88mm. MINIATURE in pen and ink and pale coloured washes. The rubric preceding the miniature introduces a chapter 'which speaks of voice and sound and human speech'. This is charmingly illustrated by two groups of men singing, one lay and one clerical. The text is Evrart de Conty's Les problèmes d'Aristote , a translation into French of the encyclopedic pseudo-Aristotle Problemata as translated by Bernardo da Messina with the commentary of Pietro d'Abano, this leaf containing the end of Partie X and the beginning of Partie XI . The text is rare: ONLY EIGHT SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLETE MANUSCRIPTS OF THIS WORK AND FOUR FRAGMENTS ARE KNOWN. Three of the fragments, also with miniatures, are from the same manuscript as the present unrecorded leaf (BnF, n.a.fr.3371; Bibl d'ENSBA, Mn Mass.75; Mus. Marmottan, Wildenstein 115). The miniatures are by an artist who contributed to a luxurious copy of the Grandes Chroniques (BL, Royal MS 20 C vii) and was named by François Avril, from his work in a manuscript made for the duke of Berry, as the Master of the second Roman de la Rose of Jean de Berry (BnF, fr.12595). In September 1405 Guillaume Boisratier, Archbishop of Bourges and counsellor of Jean de Berry, gave a copy of 'le Livre des problèmes d'Aristote ... escript de lettre courant historié au commencement et en plusieurs lieux' to the duke (see Delisle, Le cabinet des manuscrits , Paris, 1868-81, p.183 and Guiffrey, Inventaires de Jean duc de Berry , Paris, 1894-96, pp.247-8 no 944). Berry's manuscript has not been identified, and it may be that it was the source of the Paris fragments and the present leaf.