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Collection of cuttings from Choirbooks and a leaf from a Lectionary, in Latin, decorated and illuminated manuscripts on vellum [Italy and Flanders, late fourteenth to late fifteenth century]
Estimate
3,000 - 5,000 GBP
bidding is closed
Description
- Vellum
three cuttings with initials: (a) initial ‘S’, 149mm. by 141mm., in bright orange, muted olive green and soft brown heightened with white penwork, enclosing sprays of coloured acanthus leaves on a blue and striking black ground, with remains of three 4-line red staves with music and text, rastrum 29mm., northern Italy, late fourteenth century; (b) initial ‘C’, 168mm. by 194mm., in orange on a blue ground with white penwork, enclosing fleshy acanthus leaves in light pink, grey, ochre, olive green and blue, with remains of three 4-line red staves with music and text, rastrum 30mm., northern Italy, late fourteenth century; (c) initial ‘A’, 273mm. by 150mm., in burnished gold on a light pink and blue ground with white penwork including delicate roses growing from stems in light ochre, accompanied by a border in the outer margin formed of fine gold sprays with coloured acanthus leaves terminating in stylised flowers, strawberries or balls and surrounded by small flowers in red or blue, with remains of seven 4-line staves in red and brown ink with music and text, rastrum 21mm., Southern Netherlands, mid-fifteenth century; and (d) leaf from a Lectionary, 368mm. by 267mm., with a large illuminated initial ‘K’ (opening ‘Katherina costi regis filia …’) in bright pink and yellow with fleshy acanthus leaves in blue and green heightened with white penwork, on a burnished gold ground infilled with green heightened with yellow penwork, developing flowers accompanied by gold bezants in the inner margin, double column, 30 lines, written space 212mm. by 167mm., written in a gothic bookhand, capitals stroked in red, rubrics in red, small initials in red with purple pen-flourishing or in blue with red pen-flourishing, with wide and clean margins, Italy (Florence), late fifteenth century; some with slight discolouration in places and remnants of paper from last mounting, overall all in good condition
Catalogue Note
The cutting with the initial ‘S’ comes from the same Choirbook as another cutting with an initial ‘G’ sold in our rooms, 5 December 2012, lot 9 (i) (illustrated).