Two leaves from the Bute-Soissons Hours, in Latin, opulently illuminated manuscript on parchment [France (probably Soissons), c. 1370-1400] Two single leaves, both with 13 lines of a high-grade gothic bookhand, red rubrics, one-line initials in gold on blue and pink grounds heightened with white penwork, larger initials in colours on gold grounds with sprays of coloured and gold ivy-leaf foliage in margins, line-fillers in same, one leaf with a very large initial 'D' (opening 'Domina labia mea ...') in pink with foliate and geometric designs picked out with fine white brushwork, enclosing large curls of coloured foliage in a 'S' shape formed from a blue dragon's body on brightly burnished gold grounds, all within blue and gold frame, with opening seven lines of text in gold letters on blue and pink grounds, the whole text block within gold and coloured bars and within a full border of coloured and gold foliage, a few small smudges and spots, else excellent condition, each leaf, 154 by 115mm. Provenance: 1. From a notably early Book of Hours most probably produced in Soissons: the Office of the Virgin was according to the Use of Soissons and the Litany included St. Médard of Soissons. 2. John Crichton-Stuart (1847-1900), 3rd Marquess of Bute, or John Stuart (1713-1792), 3rd Earl of Bute or his namesake and heir the 1st. Marquess (1744-1814), and recorded in the library catalogue for St. John's Lodge, Regent's Park, London, in 1896 as their MS. 128 (G.23): 'Missale Romanum. A.M.S. with 31 paintings, & illuminated letters. Anteroom. 4.A.'; their sale at Sotheby's, 13 June 1983, lot 6, to Kraus. 3. H.P. Kraus (1907-88) of New York, the single greatest bookdealer of the twentieth century, and dispersed by that firm, with a single leaf passing from them to the Jeanne Miles Blackburn collection (see catalogue of an exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art in 1999, no. 20). The leaves were then kept in display drawers in Kraus' shop and 34 of them (23 miniatures and 11 leaves with opulent openings) were stolen over a period of weeks in late 1983. The remainder in Kraus' ownership were then sold to Bruce Ferrini, and one can be found in his cat. 1, Important Western Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts and Illuminated Leaves (1987), no. 73. The thefts from Kraus included the present leaf, and it is reproduced in black and white in an internal New York Police Department circular dated 29 March 1984, as well as an Art Dealers Association of America theft notice dated 20 April 1984 (copies of these documents included in this lot). The leaves were recovered, and sold by the insurance company to recover their losses. Details of the theft and recovery of these leaves kindly confirmed by correspondence between Mary Ann and Roland Folter and Roger Martin 4. Bonhams and Butterfields, San Francisco, 25 June 2003, lot 3016, acquired immediately after that sale by Roger Martin
Two leaves from the Bute-Soissons Hours, in Latin, opulently illuminated manuscript on parchment [France (probably Soissons), c. 1370-1400] Two single leaves, both with 13 lines of a high-grade gothic bookhand, red rubrics, one-line initials in gold on blue and pink grounds heightened with white penwork, larger initials in colours on gold grounds with sprays of coloured and gold ivy-leaf foliage in margins, line-fillers in same, one leaf with a very large initial 'D' (opening 'Domina labia mea ...') in pink with foliate and geometric designs picked out with fine white brushwork, enclosing large curls of coloured foliage in a 'S' shape formed from a blue dragon's body on brightly burnished gold grounds, all within blue and gold frame, with opening seven lines of text in gold letters on blue and pink grounds, the whole text block within gold and coloured bars and within a full border of coloured and gold foliage, a few small smudges and spots, else excellent condition, each leaf, 154 by 115mm. Provenance: 1. From a notably early Book of Hours most probably produced in Soissons: the Office of the Virgin was according to the Use of Soissons and the Litany included St. Médard of Soissons. 2. John Crichton-Stuart (1847-1900), 3rd Marquess of Bute, or John Stuart (1713-1792), 3rd Earl of Bute or his namesake and heir the 1st. Marquess (1744-1814), and recorded in the library catalogue for St. John's Lodge, Regent's Park, London, in 1896 as their MS. 128 (G.23): 'Missale Romanum. A.M.S. with 31 paintings, & illuminated letters. Anteroom. 4.A.'; their sale at Sotheby's, 13 June 1983, lot 6, to Kraus. 3. H.P. Kraus (1907-88) of New York, the single greatest bookdealer of the twentieth century, and dispersed by that firm, with a single leaf passing from them to the Jeanne Miles Blackburn collection (see catalogue of an exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art in 1999, no. 20). The leaves were then kept in display drawers in Kraus' shop and 34 of them (23 miniatures and 11 leaves with opulent openings) were stolen over a period of weeks in late 1983. The remainder in Kraus' ownership were then sold to Bruce Ferrini, and one can be found in his cat. 1, Important Western Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts and Illuminated Leaves (1987), no. 73. The thefts from Kraus included the present leaf, and it is reproduced in black and white in an internal New York Police Department circular dated 29 March 1984, as well as an Art Dealers Association of America theft notice dated 20 April 1984 (copies of these documents included in this lot). The leaves were recovered, and sold by the insurance company to recover their losses. Details of the theft and recovery of these leaves kindly confirmed by correspondence between Mary Ann and Roland Folter and Roger Martin 4. Bonhams and Butterfields, San Francisco, 25 June 2003, lot 3016, acquired immediately after that sale by Roger Martin
.jpg?w=400 "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
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