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THE AVIGNON HOURS, use of Paris, in Latin and French, ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM
THE AVIGNON HOURS, use of Paris, in Latin and French, ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM [Avignon, c.1415] 190 x 133mm. ii + 287 leaves: 1 1 2 , 2-12 8 , 13 4 , 14-17 8 , 18 4 , 19-20 6 , 21 8 , 22 4 , 23-26 8 , 27 4 , 28 8 , 29 6 , 30-31 8 , 32 4 , 33-36 8 , 37 7 (of 8, ii lacking), 38 8 , 39 4 , 40 2 (of 4, iii-iv cancelled blanks), catchwords, 14 lines written in black ink in a gothic bookhand between two verticals and 15 horizontals very finely ruled in brown, justification: 85 x 53mm, rubrics in red, line-endings in burnished gold patterned with blue, pink and orange, one-line initials alternately in pink or blue with white on burnished gold grounds with floral or foliate infills, two-line initials of similar type with marginal extensions on rectos of gold and coloured leaves or flowers on hairline tendrils, EVERY PAGE WITH A BORDER OF LEAVES AND FLOWERS, except f.216v originally blank, many with the letters 'un' in gold, with a bar to the outer margin of intertwined strands of blue and green or red and with burnished gold infills, SIXTEEN LARGE MINIATURES WITH BORDERS WITH ANGELS above three-line initials on gold grounds (lacking one leaf before f.270, repaired tear on f.284, tiny paint loss and small offset to miniature f.73, wear to miniatures on ff.86v, 117v (probably from kissing), f.155v (very slight), some wear to margins). Late 16th-century French brown morocco à la fanfare , enclosing the initials AC on both covers, later parchment fore-edge tabs (lacking two ties, expert minor repairs to joints). Brown slipcase. A MOST ENTRANCING BOOK OF HOURS, WITH RARE INDIVIDUALITY OF SUBJECT MATTER AND DECORATION PROVENANCE: 1. The manuscript, with prayers in the feminine, was made for a lady who used 'un' as a motto; the interpretation 'vii' seems less plausible. Although the use of Paris was widely followed, the lady may have had links to the capital: a slightly earlier Parisian Book of Hours bears words read as 'un' and 'va' (Tenschert, Katalog LXVI , 2011, no 5). The Calendar is largely Parisian with some variations; the saints in the litany include some who were especially popular in Paris, like Fiacre, and some more revered elsewhere, like Martial, the Apostle of Limoges. St Genevieve of Paris and St Maturin, whose cult centred on Sens, are invoked in the litany and suffrages. Sts Quentin and Avoye in the suffrages are also more usual in northern France. Identifying the use of the Office of the Dead might clarify her origins or usual place of residence. The book was made in Avignon: the miniatures are from the workshop of Jean de Toulouse active there c.1380-1415, whose manuscripts are characterised by Parisian style borders; some have Parisian calendars (M.-C. Leonelli, 'La dévotion aux saints d'après les livres d'heures confectionés à Avignon', Mémoires de l'Académie de Vaucluse , 1985, pp.329-335, citing this manuscript). 2. CA or AC: the initials on the fine 16th-century Parisian binding that demonstrates the continuing value placed on the book. There are erased inscriptions on the endleaves. 3. Charles Gillet of Lyon and then Lausanne (1879-1972): no 40 in V. Leroquais, Exposition de manuscrits à peintures du VIe au XVIIe siècles , Bibliothèque de la Ville de Lyon, 1920. His collections, especially famed for the Greek coins, earned him the title 'le Prince du goût' (see M. Peyrennet, La dynastie des Gillet , Paris, 1978). 4. Sotheby's, 11 April 1961, lot 177; Quaritch, Catalogue no 820 (1961), no 7; Christie's, 11 July 1974, lot 13. 5. Commandant Weiller (1893-1993): his bookplate inside upper cover; his sale, Drouot, Paris, 30 November 1998, lot 78. CONTENT: Calendar ff.3-14v; Gospel extracts ff.15-20; prayers including O Intemerata , in the feminine, and Obsecro te , with some masculine endings and 'famule tue' in the feminine, ff.20v-30v; Hours of the Virgin, use of Paris ff.31-98v: matins with variants for the days of the week f.31, lauds f.55v, prime f.67, terce f.73, sext f.77v, none f.82, vespers f.86v, co