Beneventan neumes - photo 1
Beneventan neumes - photo 2
Beneventan neumes - photo 3
Beneventan neumes - photo 4

Beneventan neumes

Starting price
£ 3 800
Auction dateClassic
08.11.2023 11:00UTC +01:00
Auctioneer
CHRISTIE'S
Event location
United Kingdom, London
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 1053144
Lot 30 | Beneventan neumes
Beneventan neumes
Two bifolia from a Missal, in Latin, manuscript on vellum [southern Italy, second half 12th century]
Four very handsome leaves from a Southern Italian Missal with Beneventan neumes, one of which contains an apparently unrecorded version of the Exultet chant at the Easter vigil.

c.340 x 232mm, 2 bifolia (4 leaves, the text not consecutive), modern pencil foliation and earlier ink foliation not followed here, 25-26 lines written in dark brown ink in a rounded Carolingian minuscule, ruled space: 247 x 138mm, Beneventan neumes, rubrics and initials in red (gutter of the first bifolium strengthened, one corner repaired, leaves a little darkened, else in excellent condition). Bound in grey buckram at the Quaritch bindery.

Provenance:
(1) Bernard Rosenthal, his I/10 and I/11. A printed note that accompanies the lot says that it was probably a gift from Albi Rosenthal (1914-2004) in 1956.

(2) Bernard Quaritch, Medieval Manuscript Leaves, cat. 1147 (1991), nos. 52 and 53, acquired in 1991 by:

(3) Schøyen Collection, MS 1377.

Text:
The text of the two bifolia is not consecutive, and includes: on f.1-1v, the Masses for Sundays in Advent to Friday of Ember Days: 'Excita quesumus domine potentiam tuam [...]' to 'Muneribus nostris quesumus Domine precibus susceptis et celestibus nos munda mysteriis et cle[menter exaudi]'; on f.2-2v, Wednesday at the Beginning of Lent to Saturday after Ash Wednesday: '[ut omnes qui eos] ad misericordiam tuam deprecandam super capita [...] to 'Adest domine supplicationibus nostris et hoc sol[emne]'; on ff.3-3v, the Preface for Easter, the second part of the Exultet chant at the Easter vigil: 'Dominus vobiscum. Sursum Corda' to 'Nox in qua terrenis [caelestia humanis divina iunguntur]; and on f.4-4v the Collects, Secrets, Preface and Cues, and Post Communion Prayers for the Feast of Pentecost Sunday, and the Ferias of Monday through Friday of Pentecost Week: '[vivit et regnat] in unitate eiusdem / Deus qui hodierna' to 'ut muneribus tuis semper possimus aptari. Per [eundem]'.

Script and music:
The script is a clear, upright, regular 12th-century Carolingian minuscule. In a short description for Bernard Rosenthal, John Emerson of the Department of Music at the University of California, Berkeley, dates it c.1150-1200; Marvin Colker concurs, dating it to the late 12th century. Emerson states: 'Of all these fragments, the Preface seems most interesting from a musicological standpoint'. The Beneventan neumes are arranged on on a yellow C-line. The Exultet chant, a very long chant at the Easter vigil which is remarkable for the localised variants which are found in different manuscript recensions, here seems to bear most similarity with some versions of the Franco-Roman text in South Italy as recorded by T. F. Kelly, The Exultet in Southern Italy, pp.272-89, though without corresponding exactly with any of the sources collated there.
Place of origin:Italy
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
02.11.2023 09:00 – 17:00
03.11.2023 09:00 – 17:00
04.11.2023 12:00 – 17:00
05.11.2023 12:00 – 17:00
06.11.2023 09:00 – 17:00
07.11.2023 09:00 – 17:00
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.
×
Save this search query and get timely email alerts! It is simple and very effective.
paul guiragossian (1926 - 1993)
Create a Search Subscription