WONDERFUL ILLUMINATED LEAF FROM A BOOK OF HOURS, CIRCA 1430, WITH MINIATURES OF BOTH ST. NICHOLAS AND ST. SEBASTIAN
(ILLUMINATED LEAF). Illuminated leaf from a Book of Hours. Brittany, circa 1430. One vellum leaf, measuring 5-1/2 by 8 inches, scribed on recto and verso in dark brown ink and illuminated in blue, red, green, white, yellow and gold on both sides; handsomely window matted and framed, entire pieces measures 12 by 13 inches. $16,500.
A wonderful illuminated leaf from a Book of Hours that features very large miniatures on both sides, one of St. Sebastian being pierced with arrows and the other of St. Nicholas resurrecting the three murdered children.
This leaf features two of the most popular Saint's stories for medieval Europeans: St. Nicholas resurrecting three murdered children, and St. Sebastian tied to a post and shot with arrows. On one side, St. Nicholas is shown with his bishop's crook, with three naked boys stepping out of a large tub, hands clasped in prayer. According to the legend, during a terrible famine a wicked butcher murdered three young boys and threw their bodies into a tub in order to cure their flesh (and presumably sell it as ham). When Nicholas arrived in the town to provide aid, discovers the deed and resurrected the children by making the sign of the cross. The miniature, set within a gold frame, is on a page with eight lines of text that feature two illuminated initials, one three-line and one one-line. The left and right borders are done in gold leaves set on hairline sprays, and the larger right-hand border includes a few green leaves and four gooseberries. The other side depicts St. Sebastian tied to a post, being shot through with arrows by two archers, all within a gilt frame. The page includes ten lines of text that feature two two-line illuminated initials and two one-line illuminated initials, set within similar borders to the other other side, although here the wider left-hand margin features blue flowers rather than gooseberries. The style of this leaf, done in strong colors, spread with the Rohan Master westwards from Paris into Rennes and elsewhere in Brittany in the 1420s and 1430s.
In excellent condition.