EXCEPTIONAL ILLUMINATED LEAF FROM A FRENCH BOOK OF HOURS, CIRCA 1470, FEATURING A BEAUTIFUL AND UNUSUAL HAND-COLORED IMAGE OF ALL SAINTS

(ILLUMINATED LEAF). Illuminated Leaf from a Book of Hours. France, circa 1470s. Single vellum leaf (3-1/4 by 5 inches), illuminated in gold, black, white, gray, red, pink, purple, green, blue, and brown inks. Window matted and framed, entire piece measures 13 by 10 inches.

Lovely and most unusual illuminated miniature from a French Book of Hours, circa 1470, featuring a striking hand-colored image depicting All Saints, with four lines of Latin text from the Hours of the Days of the Week (Tuesday) in Batarde script and a three-line initial, beautifully bordered.

This beautiful illuminated miniature is from a Book of Hours from late 15th-century France and depicts All Saints. This manuscript was obviously unusually complex. The miniature would have been set at the beginning of the Tuesday portion of the Hours of the Days of the Week, an infrequently included Office that would only have appeared in a very substantial Book of Hours. While most Books of Hours covered the common prayers across the year, this manuscript must have included prayers well beyond the expected ones. This image, thus, almost never appears in Books of Hours. When it does, it represents not only readily identifiable figures, but also various categories of saints: prophets and patriarchs, Apostles and Evangelists, martyrs, confessors (those who suffered but did not die), saints of the various religious orders, military saints, virgins, and other female saints. Here, the featured saint is clearly John the Baptist, framed by columns in the image and depicted in a more dynamic and interesting pose (carrying a lamb with the pink cloak—worn over his hair shirt—lifted to reveal his foot). The bearded figure in purple looking at John's lamb may well be Anthony the Abbot, the hermit of the Egyptian desert often regarded as the founder of monasticism. The foregrounded saints wear Marian blue (St. Peter and St. Martin), while the two male saints at the rear wear martyr's red. The saints whose faces are not visible are, as per tradition, women saints. The background (and foreground columns of the image) depict a gothic chapel with vaulted ceilings, tiled floors, and stained glass windows. The sophistication of the design is clearly evident and fully realized due to the skill of the painter. Although quite small, the miniature retains an exceptional level of detail. Also included are four lines of red and gold text and a three-line blue initial on a gilt ground embellished with a floral design. The main features of the leaf are beautifully bordered with a two-sided pink and blue geometric border on gilt and a full border of flowers, berries, acanthus leaves, and sprays, with a small additional bust of a bishop rendered in pink. The Batarde text is from the beginning of the Hours of the Days of the Week (Tuesday). The verso is rendered in a similar style with 14 lines of gold and red script, one two-line initial in blue and white on a gilt ground embellished by flowers and a one-line initial in gold on a blue and purple filigreed ground. A delicate mix of acanthus leaves, flowers, and sprays decorates borders one side of the text.

Fine condition.