Gathering the Past:
Illuminated Manuscripts from the James and Elizabeth
Ferrell Collection and other Treasures
For a thousand years, people of taste and culture have wanted to own illuminated manuscripts. The tactile
beauty of medieval manuscripts has never been out of fashion. These are works of art which have always
been treasured and admired, and will be forever. Hold an original illuminated manuscript in your hands and it
is a trigger to the imagination, transporting you back to the castles and cathedrals of the distant Middle Ages.
Turn the pages and the gold still sparkles. Peer closely and you are directly encountering the oldest European
painting, on the tiniest scale, original and unrestored. Read the text, if you can, and you are conversing
directly with a medieval scribe. Gather a shelf of illuminated manuscripts and you are standing in an
unbroken line of fellow collectors and connoisseurs from the Duc de Berry to the greatest museums of art,
and from the Medici to the Rothschilds.
Exhibition:
November 6th through November 28th 2015
Tuesday through Saturday 10 AM to 6 PM
Opening Reception:
Thursday, November 5th 2015, 6 PM to 8 PM
LES ENLUMINURES
23 East 73rd Street
7th Floor
New York, NY 10021
tel: +1 212 717 7273
[email protected]
www.lesenluminures.com
Full descriptions availble upon request
1
The most influential literary work of the Middle Ages
GUILLAUME DE LORRIS and JEAN DE MEUN, Le Roman de la Rose
(“THE FERRELL ROSE”)
In French, illuminated manuscript on parchment
With 38 miniatures by the Workshop of the Maître François
France, Paris or Loire Valley, c. 1430-1470
Here is one of the last richly illustrated copies in private hands of one of the most
important and widely read works of medieval French literature. The present copy stands
out for its exceptionally well documented early provenance, ordered by a member of
the Royal Treasury, and for its many miniatures from the circle of the Maître François.
The narrative unites an allegory of idealized courtship and love with insights into
natural history, plant lore, astrology, meteorology, alchemy, philosophy, and fortune
telling. The Rose stands second only to the Bible and Boethius’s Consolation of
Philosophy in its cultural impact on Western literature. This copy was on long-term
deposit at the J. Paul Getty Museum and is fully reproduced on the Digital Rose, as
“The Ferrell Rose.”
*
2
Sumptuously illuminated Renaissance music
manuscript by the Master of the San Sisto Antiphonals
CHOIR BOOK OF SAN SISTO (Benedictine Use)
In Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment
With 31 miniatures by the Master of the San Sisto Antiphonals
Italy, Lombardy (doubtless Piacenza), 1460-80
Of immense scale and in exceptional condition, this is one of a 14-volume set of Choir
Books made for the Abbey of San Sisto of the Congregation of Santa Justina. Sets of
opulently illuminated choir books were one of the most prestigious products of
Renaissance manuscript illumination. Sumptuously illuminated with 9 exceptionally
large historiated initials, sometimes half a page in size, and 22 smaller historiated
initials, its style represents the culmination of the late Gothic International Style in
Lombardy. This impressive volume is by a collaborator of the famous Belbello da Pavia
and preserves an immense contemporary binding of thick wooden boards covered
with leather and metal stamped frames and bosses. The manuscript was on
long-term deposit at the J. Paul Getty Museum.
*
3
Presentation copy of a French historical epic, partially
autograph and known only in this single example
PHILIPPE DE VIGNEULLES, La Chanson de Geste de Garin Le Loherain
In French, illuminated manuscript on paper
With three full-page miniatures and three historiated initials
France, Metz, c. 1515-1527/28
From a noble French collection, this is the unique copy of a medieval epic with extensive
autograph corrections and additions. Epic is an important genre of poetry,
sung aloud, that dates from the dawn of medieval French literature.
By an author from Metz in eastern France, Philippe de Vigneulle (1471-1527/28), the
manuscript translates into prose the story of an epic hero Garin “the Lotharingian”
that takes place in lower Lorraine, the very heartland of the Franco-German Empire at
the height of its power. This presentation copy includes wonderfully animated full-page
miniatures and fine calligraphic pen work initials. The only other known copy of
Philippe’s text was destroyed in 1944, when many of the treasures of the Bibliothèque
municipale de Metz (MS 847) were set on fire by retreating German troops.
$275,000
4
Impressive early humanist manuscript with white vine
illumination and illustrious provenance
SAINT JEROME, Epistola (Letters)
In Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment
Italy, Florence, c. 1430-40
An early Florentine humanistic manuscript, this St. Jerome offers very fine examples of
minuscule script and white vine-stem decoration associated with the scriptorium of
S. Maria degli Angeli in the 1430s. At one time possibly in the library of Bernardo
Bembo, the manuscript has an illustrious provenance, owned more recently by Major
J. R. Abbey, Peter and Irene Ludwig, and the J. Paul Getty Museum and on long-term
deposit at the Parker Library of Cambridge University.
$200,000
5
Medieval French encyclopedia made for a Queen and
illuminated by a woman
SYDRAC THE PHILOSOPHER, Livre de la fontaine de toutes sciences
In French, illuminated manuscript on parchment
With illumination by Jeanne de Montbaston (c. 1338?-1350s)
and 1 diagram of a T-O map
France, Paris, c. 1325-50
This is a Royal manuscript. It belonged to Joan of France, the Queen of Navarre and
the daughter of the King. The text – a medieval encyclopedia – is the last remaining
copy of “Sydrac” or the “Fountain of All Sciences” in private hands. More than 1,000
questions in the text address scientific puzzles of serious concern to the medieval
readers and of immediate appeal to a modern audience: Why don’t the stars fall out
of the sky? How do fish sleep in the water? Where does the wind come from? What
makes lightening? The artist is the first fully documented woman artist, Jeanne de
Montbaston. Around 1350, she worked in Paris, where she continued her husband’s
business after his death. Its nearly unbroken provenance extends from its first Royal
owner to modern times.
$600,000
6
Earliest English transcription of this important and
rare commentary on the Psalms by the
Prior of Floreffe Abbey
PETER OF HERENTHAL, Collectarius Super Librum Psalmorum
[Commentary on the Psalms]
In Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment
England, possibly Norwich, c. 1400
In very fresh condition, this is an unusually richly decorated and early copy of Peter of
Herenthal’s collection of commentaries on the Psalms, compiled originally in 1374.
Peter was monk, then abbot, at the important abbey of Floreffe in Namur, and
although there are earlier copies originating in the region of Namur, this appears to
be the earliest copy of English origin dating only a quarter century after its compilation.
Bearing a resemblance to the work of Herman Scheere, the historiated initial of King
David stands out as a significant example of the International Style in England.
$100,000
7
Long-lost volume of the Grammont (Geraardsbergen)
Missal with its original miniatures restored to it
Missal of Jan de Broedere (Summer Part)
In Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment
Belgium, Geraardsbergen or Grammont, c. 1510-1520? after 1506
With 5 large miniatures, 1 full page, 4 historiated initials and illuminated
borders by the Masters of Raphael de Mercatellis
This is the long-lost Missal of Grammont Abbey, illuminated for the monastery’s
greatest Renaissance abbot, Jan van Broedere, abbot 1506-26. It is a luxurious display
manuscript and is spectacularly illustrated. It was made for Grammont, or
Gerardsbergen, near Brussels, probably for the altar of the Lady Chapel, for which
Broedere also commissioned the celebrated altarpiece of the Adoration of the Magi
by Jan Gossaert (d. 1523), now in the National Gallery in London. The identification
and recovery of the missing parts of the Grammont Missal in recent decades has an
extraordinary tale of chance and good fortune. With the triumphant restoration of the
missing miniatures, the Grammont Abbey Missal of Jan van Broedere is now more
complete and more spectacular than it has been at any moment since the French
Revolution.
$575,000
8
A romance of the knights of King Arthur’s court in
beautiful condition and with superior provenance
Le Roman du Roy Meliadus de Leonis
In French, illuminated manuscript on parchment
With 1 historiated initial from the workshop of
Nicolo di Giacomo da Bologna
Italy, likely Emilia-Romagna (Bologna?), c. 1350
The “Romance of King Meliadus” is one of the greatest texts of secular literature. Its
focus is the Arthurian cycle in the time before the Knights of the Round Table. In fine
condition and complete, this particular copy, dating from the period of Boccaccio and
Dante, is of the upmost importance and has been extensively studied for its
contribution to the textual and pictorial tradition. It was made in Italy, and the nature
of the illumination locates it in Bologna in the circle of Nicolo da Bologna. Its dazzling
provenance includes the Duke of Roxburghe, Robert Lang, Sir Thomas Phillips, Peter
and Irene Ludwig, the J. Paul Getty Museum, and until recently it was on long-term
deposit at the Parker Library of Cambridge University.
$275,000
9
Missing volume of the illuminated Bible of the
Partriarch of Jerusalem and Bishop of Bayeux, Louis
de Harcourt
The Harcourt Bible (Genesis-Proverbs) in Latin
In Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment
With 29 historiated initials by the Bari Atelier
Northern France, Paris, c. 1260-1280
In exceptional condition and with twenty-nine historiated initials, this is the first half
of a single-volume Bible, once owned by Louis de Harcourt (1424–79), Patriarch of
Jerusalem and Bishop of Bayeux (from 1460), formerly Bishop of Béziers and
Archbishop of Narbonne (from 1451). The Bible was divided into two volumes and
bound in its present medieval binding after Harcourt’s death. The second volume is
Harvard University, fMS. Typ 239. Both volumes were written and illuminated in Paris,
c.1260-70, and the illumination is attributed to the group known as the Bari atelier
(named after a Gradual now at San Nicola, Bari).
$525,000
10
Renaissance science manuscript with many colored
drawings and volvelles showing the world before the
discoveries of Copernicus
THEORICA PLANETARUM
In Latin, illustrated manuscript on paper
With 55 colored diagrams, 11 with moveable volvelles
Italy, Verona?, c. 1580-1600
This Renaissance manuscript is one of three copies of an extensively illustrated
handbook of astronomy in the tradition of Ptolemy (fl. 127-145 A.D). Fifty-five colored
diagrams and movable parts (volvelles) expound on the theories and projections of
Ptolemy, astronomer, geographer, and mathematician who considered the Earth the
center of the universe (the “Ptolemaic system”). Notable for its rich illustration and
grand scale, the present manuscript is a crucial document in the history of science.
The transmission of Ptolemy’s work to European civilization is nearly entirely due to
Islamic scholars in the Arab world, where the study of his texts assured their survival.
Once in the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum, it has been on long-term deposit
at the Parker Library in Cambridge.
*
11
Parisian folio Bibles of this scale and
decoration are uncommon and with marginal
annotations dating over two centuries
VULGATE BIBLE
In Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment
With numerous decorated initials by the Gautier Lebaube atelier
France, Paris, c. 1250
An unusually large and beautifully decorated Paris Bible with foliate and inhabited
initials by the Gautier Lebaube atelier, an important Parisian workshop active in the
1230s and 1240s. This is one of the earliest manuscripts produced by the atelier.
Thirteenth-century Parisian workshops produced hundreds of small format “pocket”
Bibles. Folio Bibles of this scale and decoration are, in contrast, uncommon. The size
of this Bible made it an ideal book for scholars; its marginal annotations prove that
it was used for study for two centuries or more and will surely repay further research.
$175,000
12
One of the earliest and most lavishly illustrated
manuscripts showing participants and the floats from
this famous carnival parade
SCHEMBART (“hiding beard”) CARNIVAL BOOK
In German, illuminated manuscript on paper
With 64 pen and ink with watercolor drawings, 22 additional pen and ink
drawings
Germany, likely Nuremberg, c. 1550-1600
This complete witness of the famous Schembartlauf, a carnival parade that was held
in the German city of Nuremberg from 1449 to 1539 includes 64 full page illustrations
of marvelous and eccentric carnival costumes from each year the carnival was held
together with 22 drawings of floats that accompanied the pageants from 1479. The
present codex is one of the earliest preserved copies, only a few of which remain in
private hands. Three of the eighty manuscripts are located in North American public
collections. This copy was customized for its first owners, the members of the
influential patrician family of Kress von Kressenstain in Nuremberg, who prominently
featured in the carnival, and is unusual in the presence of the drawings of the floats.
$465,000
13
Anne de Polignac’s copy of a French translation
of Jerome’s letter known only in this
manuscript
SAINT JEROME, Letter to Furia [On the Duty of Remaining a
Widow], in the translation by CHARLES BONIN
In French, illuminated manuscript on parchment
With 1 full-page miniature by the Master of Spencer 6
(active c. 1490 to 1510)
France, likely Bourges, c. 1500-1510
In its original purple Renaissance binding of purple velvet and with a
frontispiece painted by the Master of Spencer 6, this deluxe manuscript
presents a unique copy of a French translation of Saint Jerome’s letter to
the widow Furia by a hitherto unknown translator. Long associated with
the library of the aristocratic woman Anne de Polignac, who was widowed
twice, the manuscript raises questions pertaining to female book ownership
and literary and artistic patronage at the beginning of the French
Renaissance. It re-opens an investigation into Anne’s personal library of
some thirty-six manuscripts. Her remarkably varied manuscripts, mostly in
the vernacular, invite reexamination of the nature of the reading experiences
of French Renaissance women.
$195,000
14
Richly illuminated copy of one of the most
important prophetic texts of the Middle Ages
PSEUDO-JOACHIM OF FIORE, Vaticinia de summis pontificibus
(Prophecies of the Popes) with MARTIN OF TROPPAU,
Chronicon Summorum Pontificum
In Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment
With 30 large miniatures
Eastern France (perhaps Savoy, or North-West Italy), c. 1450
The so-called Vaticinia de summis pontificibus (Prophecies of the Last Popes)
is one of the most popular apocalyptic texts of the Middle Ages, surviving
in nearly one hundred manuscripts and printed more than twenty-four times
from 1505 to 1670 (this one published by Millet). It represents an intriguing
combination of criticism of contemporary life, seen within a profoundly
Christian conception of the coming of the final days of Judgment, and
includes apocalyptic imagery such as the Beast of the Apocalpyse. Many
copies are on paper and not all are as sumptuously illuminated as the
present ex-Ritman example, thought to come from the House of Savoy.
$150,000
15
Illuminated devotional manuscript in Italian by
the “father of Italian prose” produced within
the author’s lifetime
DOMENICO CAVALCA, Lo Specchio di Croce [Mirror of the Cross];
La Leggienda del beato messer santo Giovanni batista
[Life of Saint John the Baptist], and other texts
In Italian, illuminated manuscript on parchment
With 3 miniatures
Italy, Florence [Santa Maria degli Angeli], dated 1384, and
thereafter
Fascinating and important manuscript copy of two early devotional writings
in Italian, this dated manuscript probably originates in Florence from the
famous scriptorium Santa Maria degli Angeli (home of Lorenzo Monaco, Fra
Angelico and other celebrated artists). In its original binding, it features
watercolor drawings that serve as pictorial frontispieces to the text, offering
a layer of visual commentary on the devotional writings. Few copies of
Domenico Cavalca’s work (he is known as “the father of Italian prose”) are
found outside Italy. There is no modern edition of either text, and the
present exemplar is one of the earliest known examples of the Specchio di
Croce produced within a generation of Cavalca’s lifetime.
$150,000
16
Spontaneous drawings and fine calligraphy in a
manuscript from the first century of
print culture
GUILLAUME ALEXIS, Le Passe-temps de tout homme et de toute
femme; L’ABC des doubles
In French, illustrated manuscript on paper
With 20 pen drawings (first hand-colored in wash) by an
unidentified artist based on the woodcuts in published in Paris,
Antoine Vérard, c. 1505
France, Normandy, Rouen?, c. 1525-1530
This is a hybrid work, an intriguing manuscript transcribed and illustrated
entirely by hand of a book printed in 1505 by the celebrated Parisian printerpublisher Antoine Vérard. The text presents a roughly contemporary and
lively verse translation by Guillaume Alexis of an immensely popular twelfthcentury Latin work attributed to Pope Innocent “On the Misery of the
Human Condition” also reputedly translated by Chaucer into English. The
drawings are, in fact, modeled on Vérard’s woodcuts, but their alluringly
spontaneous character and the fluent style of the calligraphy impart a
personal charm to the work lacking in the printed editions.
$210,000
17
Book of Hours for export to England preserving
its miniature of the Murder of Thomas Becket
Book of Hours (Use of Sarum)
In Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment
With 17 full-page miniatures facing 8 half-page miniatures and
22 historiated initials by the Workshop of Willem Vrelant
Belgium, Bruges, c. 1450-75
This richly illuminated manuscript of large format was made in Bruges by
the Workshop of Willem Vrelant, the leading artist in Bruges in the third
quarter of the fifteenth century. He worked largely for the export market
but also for the court, executing the Chroniques de Hainaut for Philip the
Good (Brussels, Bib. Roy., MS 9243). This manuscript was made for export
to the English market and retains its miniature of the Murder of Thomas
Becket of Canterbury, despite the Henry VIII’s Royal Proclamation of 1538,
demanding that images of Becket should be “put out of all the books.” The
unusually lavish present manuscript must have been made for a patron of
significant wealth.
*
18
Signed by the illuminator in stencil, exported to
England, where it belonged to two English
sisters in the fifteenth century
The Ovray Hours (Use of Sarum)
In Latin and Middle English, illuminated manuscript on parchment
With 8 miniatures by the Masters of Otto van Mordrecht
(signed with stenciled “b”)
Southern Netherlands, likely Bruges, c. 1430 to before 1449
Signed by the illuminator with small stencilled initials, this manuscript
belongs to a group of Books of Hours that help us disentangle the
commercial practices of book production in Bruges in the early to midfifteenth century. Local guild regulations required illuminators to register
their marks (and hence to sign their wares). Surviving manuscripts, like this
one, are in a Dutch style, revealing the presence of foreign artists in the
town. This manuscript is all the more interesting because of its medieval
provenance, bearing evidence that it was made for export to England and
owned in the fifteenth century by the sisters Isabel and Jane Ovray, hence
its name.
$110,000
19
Richly illuminated manuscript by a Bruges artist
and used as a record of family history
over five centuries
The Villeneuve Hours (Use of the Netherlands?)
In Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment
With 22 miniatures by the Master(s) of the Gold Scrolls
Belgium, Bruges, c. 1450
Notable for its excellent fresh condition with colorful illuminations by one
of the best hands of the Master(s) of the Gold Scrolls and for its use as a
“livre de raison,” this manuscript remained in the same family from the
Auvergne from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries, suggesting the
extent of the Bruges export market. A later member of this family bound
the manuscript in an attractive neo-Gothic style binding signed by Gruel
and Engelmann. It takes its name from one of the members of this family.
$160,000
20
Made for a judge and his wife in Amiens
probably on the occasion of their marriage
The Douville Hours (Use of Amiens)
In Latin and French, illuminated manuscript on parchment
With 16 miniatures
France, Amiens, c. 1480-90
This charming manuscript takes its name from the couple who
commissioned it, perhaps as a marriage or betrothal present. They are both
portrayed in the miniature of the Virgin Enthroned, he wearing black robes
suited to a judge or civic official and she with a unicorn resting in her lap
(a sign confirming her virginity). Their playful motto “Live joyously and do
well” is scattered amidst the varied flora and fauna on many of the margins.
The unusual style can be traced to a small group of manuscripts mostly in
the region of Amiens in the last quarter of the fifteenth century.
$95,000
21
Extensive cycle of miniatures, including everyday
scenes in the calendar, by a Parisian painter on
the eve of the French Renaissance
Book of Hours (Use of Paris)
In Latin and French, illuminated manuscript on parchment
With 13 full-page miniatures, 2 large miniatures and 24 calendar
miniatures by the Master of the Chronique scandaleuse (active
in Paris, c. 1493-c. 1510)
France, Paris, c.1490
This striking Book of Hours contains miniatures by an accomplished and
prolific artist named the Master of the Chronique scandaleuse after a
manuscript he painted for Jean de Chabannes (Paris, BnF, MS Clairambaut
481). The miniatures are painted in vibrant colors with ample use of gold
brush, with highly original geometric or foliate frames. The oeuvre of the
Master of the Chronique scandaleuse still warrants study as well as his
numerous collaborations with important artists such as the Master of
Jacques de Besançon or Jean Pichore.
$400,000
22
One of the earliest, and finest, works by a
popular painter in Rouen who worked chiefly for
the city’s aldermen
The Bliss Hours (Use of Rouen)
In Latin and French, illuminated manuscript on parchment
15 miniatures by the workshop of the Master of the Échevinage
de Rouen
France, Rouen, c. 1465
This highly finished manuscript made for a special patron is notable for its
unusual contents and its exceptional level of artistic achievement. The
illumination is attributed to the Master of the Échevinage named after his
vernacular commissions for city magistrates in Rouen, where artistic
production flourished in the latter half of the fifteenth century thanks not
only to civic officials but also to the patronage of English nobility. Many
distinctive features place this work at the beginning of the artist’s career,
before increased demand for his productions resulted in streamlined
manufacture and a greater uniformity in style by many collaborators.
$195,000
23
Of exceptional charm, its miniatures filled with
realistic details of everyday life
Book of Hours (Use of Rome)
In Latin and French, with some Dutch, illuminated manuscript on
parchment
With 17 miniatures by two artists, 15 by a Netherlandish Master
of BnF MS lat. 12065
France, Paris, c. 1415-20
This charming Book of Hours was written for a woman and illuminated in
Paris. The artist who contributed most of the miniatures came from the
Netherlands; his homespun native style is little affected by the more polished
art of the French capital. Scenes of the Virgin Spinning and Saint Nicolas
outside an urban butcher’s shop offer considerable allure, as does the figure
of Mary mourning at the Crucifixion, her face completely hidden by her
cloak. This illuminator is one of few working in Paris in the “golden age”
who thoroughly represents the influx of Dutch realism. Over half its
miniatures illustrate the suffrages instead of the more common Hours of the
Virgin.
$130,000
24
In wonderful condition, an excellent example of
mainstream Parisian book production
Book of Hours (Use of Paris)
In Latin and French, illuminated manuscript on parchment
With 13 full-page miniatures, 15 small miniatures, and 24 small
calendar miniatures close to the style associated with Jean
Pichore and his workshop
Northern France, probably Paris, c. 1510
This is a lavish example of a mainstream Parisian Book of Hours produced
by a highly skilled workshop at the beginning of the sixteenth century. In
an attractive contemporary binding and exceptionally well preserved, the
manuscript presents profuse illustration, including not only full-page
miniatures for each section but many smaller miniatures mostly for the
Suffrages and a fully illustrated calendar, along with rich borders, and it is
complete. It seems likely that multiple illuminators in the “Pichore style”
would have worked on a manuscript like this. It is remarkable in its flawless
condition, large margins, and bright, crisp illuminations.
$165,000
25
Superior miniature painted by the
“Michelangelo in miniature” and framed
for Marie de Medici
Giulio Clovio (born Grizane, Croatia, 1498, died Rome, 1578)
Holy Family (250 x 185 mm.)
Italy, Rome, c. 1560
This is a miniature of superior quality and exceptional condition by Giulio
Clovio, one of the foremost illuminators of the late Italian Renaissance,
Clovio is one of only two illuminators whom Vasari cites by name in his
biographical work, the Lives of the Painters, where he describes him as
“Michelangelo in miniature.” He is said to have studied with a follower of
Raphael, the painter Giulio Romano in Rome, and with the book illuminator
Girolamo da Libri in Verona. He was much influenced by Michelangelo, as
Vasari noted, and by Raphael. The exquisite frame on the present miniature
bears the monogram of Maria de Medici, Queen of France, and it was
perhaps framed for her.
$450,000
26
By the artist who translated Giotto’s vision
into manuscript illumination
Neri da Rimini (documented 1300-1338)
Saint Augustine
Italy, probably Rimini, c. 1300-1308
This unpublished fragment from a Dominican Choir Book is an important
addition to the oeuvre of the Riminese illuminator Neri da Rimini, the first
illuminator to interpret Giotto’s new artistic vision of monumental heroic
figures. The figure of St. Augustine in the present cutting harks back to a
model by Giotto. His markedly noble face, as well as the entire facial
structure, is based on figures such as Giotto's St. Nicholas in the frescoed
triptych above the tomb of Giovanni Gaetano Orsini in the chapel dedicated
to S. Nicholas in the lower church of S. Francesco in Assisi.
$65,000
27
Full set of post-Byzantine
miniatures from a Georgian Gospel Book
Miniatures from a Gospel Book
Eight miniatures (sizes vary, see full description)
Written and illuminated on paper, Georgia, early 16th century
These eight miniatures are all that remains of a post-Byzantine Gospel Book.
They are so close to classic post-iconoclastic Byzantine art of the later
Comnenian and early Palaeologan eras that, when the well-respected
scholar Pavel Pavlovich Muratoff studied them in the 1920s and 1930s, he
thought they dated from the fourteenth century and related them to twelfthcentury Gospel illustration. It is rare to find a complete set of Byzantine
Gospel miniatures of any date; a Byzantine Gospel Book from the
Comnenian or Palaeologan eras with a full cycle of miniatures in good
condition is virtually unattainable in today’s art market.
$235,000
LES ENLUMINURES
NEW YORK
PARIS
CHICAGO
23 East 73rd Street
7th Floor
New York, NY 10021
tel: +1 212 717 7273
[email protected]
1, rue J.J. Rousseau
75001 Paris
tel: +33 (0)1 42 60 15 58
[email protected]
2970 North Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, Illinois 60657
tel: +1 773 929 5986
[email protected]
www.lesenluminures.com