Premium pages left without account:

Auction archive: Lot number 15

SCENES FROM THE LIFE OF SAINT WENCESLAS. Four leaves with large miniatures from an ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM.

Auction 25.06.1997
25 Jun 1997
Estimate
£4,000 - £6,000
ca. US$6,577 - US$9,866
Price realised:
£5,750
ca. US$9,455
Auction archive: Lot number 15

SCENES FROM THE LIFE OF SAINT WENCESLAS. Four leaves with large miniatures from an ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM.

Auction 25.06.1997
25 Jun 1997
Estimate
£4,000 - £6,000
ca. US$6,577 - US$9,866
Price realised:
£5,750
ca. US$9,455
Beschreibung:

SCENES FROM THE LIFE OF SAINT WENCESLAS. Four leaves with large miniatures from an ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM. [Bohemia, ?Matthias Hutsky of Pürglitz, ca. 1590] Ca. 315 x 225mm (image area ca. 220 x 190mm). Four miniatures with 10-11 lines of text below (and same on verso), in colours, liquid and burnished gold, with border (and bar between text and image) of burnished gold (on pink ground). Later foliation. Framed and glazed. CAPUT XXXII (f.25). Wenceslas is run through with a sword by his brother Boleslas at the door of his chapel. An archer, a spearman and another figure stand behind in a vaulted room. Cap. XXXIII on verso. (Some waterstaining to text, miniature with some offsetting of opposite text, gold border somewhat rubbed.) CAPUT XXXIIII (f.26). Sick and crippled men and women visit the tomb of Wenceslas to seek his intercession (an altar behind). To the right, Boleslas meets his wife Brzezna leaving the tomb after her miraculous healing. In the background , a sick man is carried to the church, a horseman riding beside. Continuation on verso. (Some waterstaining to text and image, gold border rubbed.) CAPUT XXXVI (f.28). Wenceslas's mother, Drahomira, who in her rage against the true faith has incited her son's murder, is swallowed up by the earth with her chariot and horses while cursing at the sound of the bell being rung at the elevation of the Host (priest, acolyte and kneeling layman are shown at altar behind). Cap. XXXVII on verso. Initials of text touched yellow. (Some waterstaining and rubbing of gold border.) CAPUT XXXVIII (f.29). In foreground, hearse drawn by two horses, whipped on by driver. In background, right, the penitent Boleslas, who has ordered the transfer of Wenceslas's relics to St. Vitus's church in Prague; left, the release of a prisoner. Verso blank. (A little waterstaining to text and image, gold border rubbed.) The dimensions of these leaves correspond to those of the (imperfect) Vita et Martyrium S. Venceslai Bohemiae Regis listed by De Ricci ( Census of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the United States and Canada , New York, 1937, reprinted 1961, p.1718: Lehman collection, now Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, New York). The miniatures in the Vita were copied from frescoes in the upper register of the Wenceslas Chapel in St. Vitus's Cathedral, Prague, painted in the early 16th century; De Ricci makes a tentative attribution to Mathias Hutsky of Pürglitz. The manuscript was broken up between 1916 and 1923; the Lehman collection possesses 20 miniatures and 1f. of text out of the original 33ff., which contained 27 miniatures. (4)

Auction archive: Lot number 15
Auction:
Datum:
25 Jun 1997
Auction house:
Christie's
London, King Street
Beschreibung:

SCENES FROM THE LIFE OF SAINT WENCESLAS. Four leaves with large miniatures from an ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM. [Bohemia, ?Matthias Hutsky of Pürglitz, ca. 1590] Ca. 315 x 225mm (image area ca. 220 x 190mm). Four miniatures with 10-11 lines of text below (and same on verso), in colours, liquid and burnished gold, with border (and bar between text and image) of burnished gold (on pink ground). Later foliation. Framed and glazed. CAPUT XXXII (f.25). Wenceslas is run through with a sword by his brother Boleslas at the door of his chapel. An archer, a spearman and another figure stand behind in a vaulted room. Cap. XXXIII on verso. (Some waterstaining to text, miniature with some offsetting of opposite text, gold border somewhat rubbed.) CAPUT XXXIIII (f.26). Sick and crippled men and women visit the tomb of Wenceslas to seek his intercession (an altar behind). To the right, Boleslas meets his wife Brzezna leaving the tomb after her miraculous healing. In the background , a sick man is carried to the church, a horseman riding beside. Continuation on verso. (Some waterstaining to text and image, gold border rubbed.) CAPUT XXXVI (f.28). Wenceslas's mother, Drahomira, who in her rage against the true faith has incited her son's murder, is swallowed up by the earth with her chariot and horses while cursing at the sound of the bell being rung at the elevation of the Host (priest, acolyte and kneeling layman are shown at altar behind). Cap. XXXVII on verso. Initials of text touched yellow. (Some waterstaining and rubbing of gold border.) CAPUT XXXVIII (f.29). In foreground, hearse drawn by two horses, whipped on by driver. In background, right, the penitent Boleslas, who has ordered the transfer of Wenceslas's relics to St. Vitus's church in Prague; left, the release of a prisoner. Verso blank. (A little waterstaining to text and image, gold border rubbed.) The dimensions of these leaves correspond to those of the (imperfect) Vita et Martyrium S. Venceslai Bohemiae Regis listed by De Ricci ( Census of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the United States and Canada , New York, 1937, reprinted 1961, p.1718: Lehman collection, now Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, New York). The miniatures in the Vita were copied from frescoes in the upper register of the Wenceslas Chapel in St. Vitus's Cathedral, Prague, painted in the early 16th century; De Ricci makes a tentative attribution to Mathias Hutsky of Pürglitz. The manuscript was broken up between 1916 and 1923; the Lehman collection possesses 20 miniatures and 1f. of text out of the original 33ff., which contained 27 miniatures. (4)

Auction archive: Lot number 15
Auction:
Datum:
25 Jun 1997
Auction house:
Christie's
London, King Street
Try LotSearch

Try LotSearch and its premium features for 7 days - without any costs!

  • Search lots and bid
  • Price database and artist analysis
  • Alerts for your searches
Create an alert now!

Be notified automatically about new items in upcoming auctions.

Create an alert