King David, historiated initial from a Choir Psalter, in Latin [Italy (Milan or Siena), c.1470]

cutting, 90x100mm, vellum, initial ‘D’, reverse with remains of 4 lines of text, the minims c.15mm high, probably Psalm 25:2-3, ‘[ren]es meos / [et cor] meum / [quoniam misericord]ia tua / [ante oculos] meos est’, thus the initial ‘D’ is probably the normal psalter division at Ps.26: ‘Dominus illuminatio mea’ (‘The Lord is my Light’), cut to the edges of the initial and trimmed at the left, some smudging of the background sky, and slight losses of the gold framing, the reverse with traces of paper backing with several pencil inscriptions, crossed-through

(1) Bound in 1838, with 36 other historiated initials, into a copy of J. Maddan and H. Shaw, Illuminated Ornaments Selected from Manuscripts, with a bookseller’s description stating that they were ‘cut out of service books (particularly that of Como) during the French invasion of Italy’. (2) John Lomax (1801-49) of Clayton Hall, Lancashire, with his bookplate and signature dated 1842. (3) W.O. Wade, with his bookplate. (4) C.W. DYSON PERRINS (1864-1958), Worcester Sauce maker, collector of books and ceramics, and philanthropist; his sale in our rooms, 29 November 1990, lot 151, bought by: (5) A.G. Thomas (1911-92), who removed the cuttings, keeping only this one and one other; his sale in our rooms, 21 June 1993, lot 29.

Although the confirmed provenance begins in 1838, we can confidently trace its history further. It is one of a group of Lombard cuttings incorrectly attributed, in pencil inscriptions on their backs, to the cathedral at Como. Many of these were in the sale of W.Y. OTTLEY, sold in our rooms, 11 May 1838, perhaps part of one of the lots described as ‘David etc.’; many of the Ottley cuttings had, in turn, reached England through the famous sale of the ABBE CELOTTI at Christie’s, 26 May 1825, in which the present cutting was perhaps part of lot 8, or more likely 10.

The cutting with King David here is one of a group from a Choir Psalter, several of which depict Olivetan monks and saints, with illumination by the Milanese artist VENTURINO MERCATI, who illuminated service books for the Olivetan monastery of San Michele in Bosco, in Bologna, before spending most of the 1470s illuminating books for the Monte Oliveto Maggiore, near Siena, and collaborating with Girolamo da Cremona and Liberale da Verona on the Choirbooks of the Duomo of Siena.

The attribution has been confirmed by Hans-Joachim Eberhardt, who dates the cutting to before Venturino’s visit to Tuscany. Another cutting of David, perhaps from the same Psalter, was sold in our rooms, 5 July 2011, lot 7, and a third cutting from the same group but probably not from a Psalter was 5 December 1995, lot 16.