Anonymous Parisian atelier - photo 1

Anonymous Parisian atelier

Lot 4
13.07.2022 10:30UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
£ 1 386
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 794483
Lot 4 | Anonymous Parisian atelier
Estimate value
£ 1 500 – 2 500
Anonymous Parisian atelier

A leaf from a Breviary, in Latin with French rubrics, illuminated manuscript on vellum [Paris, second half 14th century]

A sparkling leaf from a well-known deluxe Breviary possibly made for the Church of Saint-Leu-Saint-Gilles de Paris in the second half of the 14th century.



234 x 173mm. Two columns of 36 lines written in a fine gothic hand, ruled space: 172 x 55mm, the text from the Hour of Lauds, contemporary foliation in red 'vij xx xvij', one large illuminated initial extending into a full bar border, 6 smaller initials in red or blue on gold grounds, rubrics in red, line fillers in gold and blue, smaller initials in blue with red penwork decoration, modern pencil foliation '190' (slightly cropped to lower margin, minor marginal staining, a small smudge below the large initial).



Provenance:

(1) The parent manuscript was written and illuminated in Paris in the second half of the 14th century, most probably for a Franciscan house dedicated to St. Aegidius/Gilles (with references on some leaves to that saint as 'our patron'), possibly for the Church of Saint-Leu-Saint-Gilles de Paris.

(2) It was likely dispersed in the late 1920s or early 1930s, with leaves first appearing in Quaritch's 1931 catalogue, nos. 127 and 128. Other leaves can be found in a bequest by Lord Cholmondeley of 2 leaves to the Society for Italic Handwriting; a UK private collection, bought from Quaritch in 1950 (these with the address to St. Aegidius as 'our patron' in prime from the office of that saint); Sotheby's, 5 April 1976, part of lot 601, the teaching collection of A.N.L. Munby, illustrated in frontispiece image there; Sotheby's, 19 June 1979, lot 3 (this described later in Sotheby's December 1994, as then in a Swiss collection); Christie's, New York, September 1981, lot 16; Sotheby's, 8 December 1981, lot 3; Quaritch, cat. 1056, Bookhands of the Middle Ages II (1985), no 69; Sotheby's, 24 June 1986, lot 50; Sotheby's, 22 June 1988, lot 11; and Maggs Bros., Bulletin 10 (June 1979), that now Tokyo, Keio University Library. Two further leaves appeared at Bloomsbury in 2021 in the collection of Roger Martin, lot 56.

(3) The present leaf was purchased at Quaritch in 2017.

Place of origin:Western Europe, France, Europe
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
13.07.2022 – 13.07.2022
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Buyer Premium see on Website
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.