Illuminated border fragments from the Choirbook of King Manuel I of Portugal [Portugal (probably Lisbon), c.1520]

four cuttings, vellum (a) 45x85mm, two putti supporting a COAT OF ARMS, cut vertically on either side of the arms and repaired; (b) 150x52mm, strawberries and stylised periwinkles, reverse with remains of music; (c) 258x39mm, a rose and  acanthus  leaves  with  two caterpillars, a wasp and a ladybird, reverse with remains of music; (d) 203x62mm, stylised cornflowers, iris and large daisy; all cuttings with some pigment loss and slightly rubbed

These border fragments were cut from a CHOIRBOOK MADE FOR MANUEL I, KING OF PORTUGAL (1495-1521), who supported the Portuguese exploration of the Atlantic Ocean and established a vast overseas empire. King Manuel's court illuminator in Lisbon was ANTONIO DE HOLLANDA (1480-1557), appointed heraldic officer to the king in 1518. He collaborated with Simon Bening in the unfinished Genealogy of Fernando of Portugal (BL, Add.12531; see T. Kren in Illuminating the Renaissance, 2003, no.147). Antonio’s only signed work is the Genealogy of the Counts of Pereira of 1534 which was sold in our rooms, 5 December 1989, lot 103. His work clearly reflects the achievements of the Ghent-Bruges school. The present elegant and naturalistic illuminations are painted in a homogenous style but by different hands and were probably produced in the workshop of Antonio de Hollanda.