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Auction archive: Lot number 9

GRATIAN (d by c1160), Decretum with the gloss of Bartholomew...

Estimate
£200,000 - £300,000
ca. US$322,456 - US$483,684
Price realised:
£241,250
ca. US$388,962
Auction archive: Lot number 9

GRATIAN (d by c1160), Decretum with the gloss of Bartholomew...

Estimate
£200,000 - £300,000
ca. US$322,456 - US$483,684
Price realised:
£241,250
ca. US$388,962
Beschreibung:

GRATIAN (d. by c.1160), Decretum with the gloss of Bartholomew of Brescia (d.1258), in Latin, ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM
GRATIAN (d. by c.1160), Decretum with the gloss of Bartholomew of Brescia (d.1258), in Latin, ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM [southern France, late 13th century] 450 x 300mm (ff.390-391 375 x 245mm). 392 leaves: 1 2 , 2-7 1 2 , 8 1 1 (of 12, lacking xii), 9-12 1 2 , 13 1 0 (of 12, lacking viii and xii), 14-16 1 2 , 17 1 0 (of 12, lacking i and vi), 18 1 2 , 19 1 0 (of 12, lacking vii and xii), 20-22 1 2 , 23 1 1 (of 12, lacking xi), 24 1 2 , 25 1 1 (of 12, lacking ix), 26 1 1 (of 12, lacking most of f.288 and part of f.291), 27 1 2 (of 12, lacking xii), 28-30 1 2 , 31 1 1 (of 12, lacking iii), 32 1 0 (of 12, lacking i and ii), 33-34 1 2 , 35 2 , 36 3 (of 4, lacking i, probably a cancelled blank), 37 2 , catchwords survive in most quires, often accompanied by a marginal drawing, leaf signatures a-z, followed by tironian et, and a-h with a line above, foliated in 19th/20th-century pencil 1-301, 301bis, 302-391, written in dark brown and paler brown ink in a fine regular rounded 'Bolognese' gothic script, rubrics in red, the main text written in two columns of varying numbers of lines and of varying justification, usually surrounded on all four sides by gloss, also variable, there is no gloss on ff.342v-345v, and ff.347v-348v, 386r-v, and 389 are blank, the main text with two-line initials in blue with red penwork, and one-line initials either all in red with purple penwork, or alternately red with purple penwork and blue with red penwork, the gloss with two-line initials alternately red with purple penwork or blue with red penwork, the beginnings of causae with foliate INITIALS ON GOLD BACKGROUNDS UP TO EIGHT LINES HIGH, the beginnings of the equivalent glosses with similar smaller initials, TWENTY-THREE COLUMN-WIDE MINIATURES with gold leaves at each corner, numerous medieval and later(?) marginal annotations and some sketches (lacking 14 leaves, one of them blank, and parts of two more, 11 of them likely with miniatures, some staining of extremities, some smudging of a few miniatures, some cockling of the vellum throughout, not affecting legibility). Medieval sewing on six double or slit alum-tawed thongs, head-and tail-bands worked with yellow and red threads, lacking boards and covering. Blue morocco-backed solander box. AN IMPOSING EXAMPLE OF THE CLASSIC CANON LAW TEXT OF THE 13TH CENTURY PROVENANCE: 1. The text is written in the rounded Bolognese script typical of 13th-century law books written in Italy, France, and England. The decoration is French, and the book differs from Italian examples in having quires of twelve instead of ten leaves. Production of such books in France was concentrated in the three cities where canon law was taught: Paris, Montpellier and Avignon. The decoration does not appear to be Parisian, and the later ownership in Toulouse suggests that the book was made in southern France, perhaps Montpellier or even Toulouse itself. The illumination provides some strong but tantalising clues as to the original patron. Some of the miniatures depict Dominican friars in a positive light, while Benedictines are shown in a negative light (one depicts Benedictine monks accused of fornication). In France the Dominicans were known as the Jacobins or Iacobini, because their first house was in the rue St Jacques, Paris: given the evidence for ownership in Toulouse, and the strong Dominican connections, could it be that the shields surrounding the first miniature, each bearing a letter 'I', indicate that the book was made for the important Jacobin house in Toulouse? 2. The near-contemporary leaves at the end of the volume name a Brother Bernetus as their scribe and a Father Clement as their recipient; this confirms that the manuscript was in ecclesiastical ownership soon after the main text was completed and presumably before it was first bound. 3. There are numerous medieval and perhaps later marginal annotations, including sketches. Some of the notes refer to heresy (e.g. ff.5v, 166, 293v), and Toulouse was the c

Auction archive: Lot number 9
Auction:
Datum:
6 Jul 2011
Auction house:
Christie's
6 July 2011, London, King Street
Beschreibung:

GRATIAN (d. by c.1160), Decretum with the gloss of Bartholomew of Brescia (d.1258), in Latin, ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM
GRATIAN (d. by c.1160), Decretum with the gloss of Bartholomew of Brescia (d.1258), in Latin, ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM [southern France, late 13th century] 450 x 300mm (ff.390-391 375 x 245mm). 392 leaves: 1 2 , 2-7 1 2 , 8 1 1 (of 12, lacking xii), 9-12 1 2 , 13 1 0 (of 12, lacking viii and xii), 14-16 1 2 , 17 1 0 (of 12, lacking i and vi), 18 1 2 , 19 1 0 (of 12, lacking vii and xii), 20-22 1 2 , 23 1 1 (of 12, lacking xi), 24 1 2 , 25 1 1 (of 12, lacking ix), 26 1 1 (of 12, lacking most of f.288 and part of f.291), 27 1 2 (of 12, lacking xii), 28-30 1 2 , 31 1 1 (of 12, lacking iii), 32 1 0 (of 12, lacking i and ii), 33-34 1 2 , 35 2 , 36 3 (of 4, lacking i, probably a cancelled blank), 37 2 , catchwords survive in most quires, often accompanied by a marginal drawing, leaf signatures a-z, followed by tironian et, and a-h with a line above, foliated in 19th/20th-century pencil 1-301, 301bis, 302-391, written in dark brown and paler brown ink in a fine regular rounded 'Bolognese' gothic script, rubrics in red, the main text written in two columns of varying numbers of lines and of varying justification, usually surrounded on all four sides by gloss, also variable, there is no gloss on ff.342v-345v, and ff.347v-348v, 386r-v, and 389 are blank, the main text with two-line initials in blue with red penwork, and one-line initials either all in red with purple penwork, or alternately red with purple penwork and blue with red penwork, the gloss with two-line initials alternately red with purple penwork or blue with red penwork, the beginnings of causae with foliate INITIALS ON GOLD BACKGROUNDS UP TO EIGHT LINES HIGH, the beginnings of the equivalent glosses with similar smaller initials, TWENTY-THREE COLUMN-WIDE MINIATURES with gold leaves at each corner, numerous medieval and later(?) marginal annotations and some sketches (lacking 14 leaves, one of them blank, and parts of two more, 11 of them likely with miniatures, some staining of extremities, some smudging of a few miniatures, some cockling of the vellum throughout, not affecting legibility). Medieval sewing on six double or slit alum-tawed thongs, head-and tail-bands worked with yellow and red threads, lacking boards and covering. Blue morocco-backed solander box. AN IMPOSING EXAMPLE OF THE CLASSIC CANON LAW TEXT OF THE 13TH CENTURY PROVENANCE: 1. The text is written in the rounded Bolognese script typical of 13th-century law books written in Italy, France, and England. The decoration is French, and the book differs from Italian examples in having quires of twelve instead of ten leaves. Production of such books in France was concentrated in the three cities where canon law was taught: Paris, Montpellier and Avignon. The decoration does not appear to be Parisian, and the later ownership in Toulouse suggests that the book was made in southern France, perhaps Montpellier or even Toulouse itself. The illumination provides some strong but tantalising clues as to the original patron. Some of the miniatures depict Dominican friars in a positive light, while Benedictines are shown in a negative light (one depicts Benedictine monks accused of fornication). In France the Dominicans were known as the Jacobins or Iacobini, because their first house was in the rue St Jacques, Paris: given the evidence for ownership in Toulouse, and the strong Dominican connections, could it be that the shields surrounding the first miniature, each bearing a letter 'I', indicate that the book was made for the important Jacobin house in Toulouse? 2. The near-contemporary leaves at the end of the volume name a Brother Bernetus as their scribe and a Father Clement as their recipient; this confirms that the manuscript was in ecclesiastical ownership soon after the main text was completed and presumably before it was first bound. 3. There are numerous medieval and perhaps later marginal annotations, including sketches. Some of the notes refer to heresy (e.g. ff.5v, 166, 293v), and Toulouse was the c

Auction archive: Lot number 9
Auction:
Datum:
6 Jul 2011
Auction house:
Christie's
6 July 2011, London, King Street
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