Beschreibung:

THE HOURS OF PIERRE LAIGUE, use of Rome, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on vellum [Lyon, 2nd quarter 16th century] A lively, engaging and highly personalised Book of Hours produced in Lyon for Pierre Laigue, seigneur of Laigue, Mantonne, La Chapelle and Le Cros. c.130 × 85mm. ii + 198 + i leaves, complete. 15 lines of text, rubrics in red, vertical catchwords and signatures throughout, 17 large and 25 small miniatures and the full-page arms of the Laigue family of Lyon (a few leaves with flaws in the margins (e.g. f.35) not affecting the text or decoration; some leaves cockled; f.196 apparently removed and re-inserted). Old deep blue velvet sewn on four bands (somewhat worn, especially the lower joint). Provenance : (1) The Laigue (or l’Aigue) family of Lyon: their full-page heraldry added on front fryleaf. A Pierre Laigue married Anne/Agnès de Revel in 1481 and died by 1505, having had at least three children: Pierre, Guillaume, and Louise. The eldest son, Pierre, died in 1557: he was seigneur of Laigue, Mantonne, La Chapelle, and Le Cros, served in the army of Henri II, and in 1526 he married Marguerite de Lattier. They had eight children, including Claude, who was a monk of l’Île Barbe in 1548, and Catherine, who was a nun of St-André-le-Haut at Vienne: the calendar, litany, and suffrages of the present manuscript suggest a particular devotion to St Claude and St Catherine. For considerable biographical detail of the family, see L.E.G. de Rivoire de la Batie, Armorial de Dauphiné, contenant les armoiries figuré es de toutes les familles nobles [ ... ], Lyon, 1867, pp.328-29. (2) Owned by a member of the Loriot family in the 16th/17th century: inscribed ‘Loriot’ on front flyleaf. (3) Later 19th/20th-century inscriptions in French, German and English hands on flyleaves, including ‘W.W.566’. Content : Calendar ff.1-12v; Gospel extracts ff.13-20v; Hours of the Virgin, use of Rome ff.21-85v; Hours of the Cross ff.86-89v; Hours of the Holy Spirit ff.90-93; Seven Penitential Psalms and Litany ff.94-114v; Office of the Dead, use of Rome ff.115-154; Obsecro te and O intemerata ff.154v-164v; Hours of St Catherine ff.165-169v; The Passion narrative ff.170-185; Suffrages to the Saints ff.186-198v. Illumination : Several features typical of Lyon illumination of the period can be traced back to the influence of Jean Colombe and Jean Bourdichon in the 1470s and 1480s: these include the ‘dramatic close-up’ seen here in many of the miniatures; the gold trompe-l'oeil giltwood picture-frames around many of them; and the use of densely massed figures to create atmospheric crowd-scenes. The artist shares some stylistic features with the so-called ‘Entry Master’ (E. Burin, Manuscript Illumination in Lyons, 1473-1530 , 2001, pp.31-33) such as the swarthy faces of many of the male figures. The subjects of the 17 large miniatures are as follows: John the Evangelist on Patmos f.13; Annunciation f.21; Visitation f.44; Nativity f.58; Annunciation to the Shepherds f.63; Adoration of the Magi f.67v; Presentation in the Temple f.71v; Flight into Egypt f.75v; The Virgin carried to Heaven by red seraphim f.82v; Christ carrying the Cross f.86; Pentecost f.90; King David in Penance f.94; Job on the Dungheap f.115; Holy Family f.154v; Pietà f.160v; St Catherine f.165; Betrayal of Christ f.170. The 25 small miniatures are on ff.15, 16v, 19, 170v, 172, 174, 177v, 180, 180v, 184, 184v, 186, 187, 187v, 189, 190, 191, 191v, 192v, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198.