Associate of the Master of Sir George Talbot - photo 1
Associate of the Master of Sir George Talbot - photo 2
Associate of the Master of Sir George Talbot - photo 3
Associate of the Master of Sir George Talbot - photo 4
Associate of the Master of Sir George Talbot - photo 5
Associate of the Master of Sir George Talbot - photo 6

Associate of the Master of Sir George Talbot

Sold
£ 81 900
Auction dateClassic
13.07.2022 10:30UTC +01:00
Auctioneer
CHRISTIE'S
Event location
United Kingdom, London
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 794599
Lot 37 | Associate of the Master of Sir George Talbot
Associate of the Master of Sir George Talbot

Book of Hours, use of Rome, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on vellum [Southern Netherlands, Bruges or Ghent, first decades 16th century]

A rich and engaging example of Ghent-Bruges illumination at the height of the Flemish Renaissance, with iconographically unusual miniatures by an associate of the Master of Sir George Talbot.



116 x 87mm. 235 leaves, collation: 110 (of 8, i and ii inserted miniatures), 29 (of 8, ii an inserted miniature), 39 (of 8, ii an inserted miniature), 48, 59 (of 8, ii an inserted miniature), 6-178, 187 (of 8, viii a cancelled blank), 199 (of 8, i an inserted miniature), 20-218, 229 (of 8, v an inserted miniature), 23-288, 295 (of 8, lacking iv-v, viii a cancelled blank), sporadic pencil foliation, 15 lines, ruled space: 77 x 50mm., rubrics in red, capitals touched in yellow, one- and 2-line initials throughout, 20 small miniatures or historiated initials, including 15 three-quarter illuminated borders in the Ghent/Bruges style of naturalistic flowers and fruit scattered in trompe l'oeil designs, 7 full-page miniatures in within full borders in similar style (f.1 probably originally bound before f.136, probably lacking 2 text leaves after f.233 and perhaps a Calendar at the beginning, else complete, some minor marginal cropping, occasional stains and signs of use). Early 18th-century red morocco gilt. In a fitted brown morocco case, title gilt.



Provenance:

(1) The Litany includes St. Bavo (Ghent) and St Donatian (Bruges). The 1995 Sotheby’s catalogue suggests that the script is very close to the hand of the Dominican scribe Johann de Bomalia, who is recorded as a member of the Bruges illuminator's guild of SS. John and Luke in 1489, signing manuscripts such as Meermanno-Westreenianum MS. 10.E.3, illuminated by Simon Bening; the Hours of James IV of Scotland and his wife Margaret Tudor: now Vienna, ÖNB, cod. lat. 1897; and a Book of Hours sold at Christie’s, 6 June 2007, lot 40 (see W.H.J. Weale, 'Documents inédits sur les enlumineurs de Bruges', Le Beffroi, IV, 1872-3, pp.318, 322, 329 and 332.)

(2) Sotheby’s Parke-Bernet, New York, 7 March 1967, lot 122.

(3) Paul Francis Webster (1907-1984): his bookplate; his sale at Sotheby’s New York, 24 April 1985, lot 103.

(4) Sotheby’s 5 December 1995, lot 55.



Content:

Hours of the Cross ff.3-11; Hours of the Holy Spirit ff.13-20; Mass of the Virgin ff.22-29v; Gospel Sequences ff.30-37; Hours of the Virgin, use of Rome, ff.39-135: matins f.39, lauds f.62, prime f.77, terce f.84, sext f.91, none f.97, vespers f.103, compline f.113; Advent office and other seasonal variants f.122; Hymn to the Virgin based on the ‘Salve regina’, with rubric ‘Has videas laudes / qui sacra virgine gaudes […]', and beginning ‘Salue virgo virginum stella matutina’ ff.135v-145; a prayer for use during the Elevation of the Host with an offer of 2000 years’ indulgence f.145v-148v; Penitential Psalms and Litany ff.150-177; Office of the Dead, use of Rome, f.179-235v.



Illumination:

This engaging and luxuriously illuminated Book of Hours appears to be the work of a single illuminator associated with the work of the Master of Sir George Talbot, named after a Book of Hours made for the Earl of Shrewsbury around 1500 (Oxford, Bodleian Library, Ms Gough Liturg.7). The small-featured round heads on compact and calm little figures are a constant feature of the miniatures. The palette is varied, the use of colour often inventive and striking. The borders are predominantly of 'Ghent-Bruges' types, with naturalistic strewn flowers, trompe l’oeil borders, and architectural surrounds. It is an attractive and distinctive style, and compositions and features of setting show the illuminator's familiarity with the main currents of Flemish illumination in the first decades of the 16th century – particularly the work of the Master of the Prayerbooks of c.1500, the Master of Mary of Burgundy and Alexander Bening. The dramatic Last Judgement (f.149v) draws on comparable scenes in the Hours of Mary of Burgundy in Berlin and the Hours of Engelbert of Nassau in Oxford, while the full-face portrait of Christ on f.1v comes from the repertoire of the Master of the Older Prayerbook and probably originally from a lost panel by Jan van Eyck.



The most inventive and unusual miniature in the present manuscript is the scene set in the bedroom of a man who has just died (f.178v), opening the Office of the Dead – a studied departure from the usual depictions of funerals and burials, or battles for the soul taking place in a cemetery. Here, the setting is intimate and familiar: the deceased man (perhaps a relative of the original owners of these Hours) is laid out on a mat in the foreground with the implements for washing and preparing it for burial, his slippers set to one side. Above him, a man is seated in a chair beside the bed and two women are in discussion on a bench. At the top of the miniature, a battle for the dead man’s soul ensues between an angel and a devil with webbed wings. The border include bones and skulls with the hats of a pope, a bishop, an emperor, a cardinal and a king. Comparable versions are described by B. Brinkmann, Offizium der Madonna, Der Codex Vat.Lat. 10293, Kommentarband, 1992, pp.27-32. The border, with snakes among skulls wearing the hats of rulers, all made equal by death, has an Italian parallel in the Mirandola Hours (British Library, Add. MS 50002, f.85).



The subjects of the full-page miniatures are as follows: Christ as Salvator Mundi f.1v; the Crucifixion f.2v; Pentecost f.12v; the Virgin and Child in the crescent moon, the Ara Coeli, f.21v; the Annunciation,f .38v; the Last Judgement f.149v; a death scene, set in the lattice-widowed bedroom of a man who has just died, f.178v.



The subjects of the smaller miniatures are as follows: the Descent from the Cross (f.3); the Ascension (f.13); the Mass of St Gregory (f.22); St John on Patmos (f.30); St Luke painting (f.32); St Matthew (f.34); St Mark (f.36); the Visitation (f.39); the Meeting at the Golden Gate (f.62); the Nativity (f.77); the Annunciation to the Shepherds (f.84); the Adoration of the Magi (f.91); the Presentation in the Temple (f.97); the Massacre of the Innocents (f.103); the Flight into Egypt (f.113); the Coronation of the Virgin (f.122); the Virgin and Child with an angel with the Cross and nails (f.136); a monstrance with the Host (f.145v); David in prayer (f.150); the Three Living and the Three Dead (f.179).





Special Notice


No VAT on hammer price or buyer's premium.
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.