Bifolium from a large Bible - photo 1
Bifolium from a large Bible - photo 2
Bifolium from a large Bible - photo 3

Bifolium from a large Bible

Lot 45
12.12.2022 00:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
£ 1 260
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 869441
Lot 45 | Bifolium from a large Bible
Estimate value
£ 1 000 – 1 500
Bifolium from a large Bible
A huge bifolium from a Bible in Latin, decorated manuscript on vellum [Italy, mid(?) 12th century].
From an extremely large and legible Bible, probably used for the daily readings in the choir or refectory of a monastery.

Each leaf c.530×375mm. 2 columns of 44 lines, blind ruled, the pricking preserved, written in a fine late Caroline minuscule with one rubric and incipit in rustic capitals, running headings in red, the central bifolium of a quire with continuous text comprising Hosea 9:4 to the end of the book, followed by four prologues to Joel (‘[intra]bit in domum domini […] Explicit Liber Osee prophetę. Incipit prologus in libro Ioel. Iohel filius fatuel […] Item alium. [I]ohel qui interprætatur dominus deus sive incipiens deo […] Item alium. Iohel de tribu Ruben […] Item alium. Sanctus Iohel apud Hebreos post Oseę ponitur […] in scripturis sanctis’; the second prologue is apparently unrecorded or at least unknown to Stegmüller, the others are Stegmüller, Repertorium Biblicum, nos. 510, 509, 511), with pre-modern marginal chapter numbers VII–VIII in black at Hosea 9:6 and 10:13, and 13th-century marginal numbers in red X–XIIII at the modern divisions, initials in red, the first Joel initial with a fine reserved design and foliate ornament (recovered from use as a book cover, with consequent folds, holes with small losses of text, etc., but overall very imposing)

Provenance:
(1) Erik von Scherling (d. 1956), Rotulus, V (Leiden, 1949), no 2061.
(2) Colker MS 114, acquired in 1966 from Maggs.

This bifolium belongs to a genre of Bibles termed ‘Giant’ by Walter Cahn (Romanesque Bible Illumination, Ithaca, NY, 1982) and Larry Ayres (‘The Italian Giant Bibles: Aspects of their Touronian Ancestry and Early History’, in R. Gameson ed., The Early Medieval Bible: Its Production, Decoration and Use, Cambridge, 1994, pp. 125–54), and ‘Atlantic’ by E.B. Garrison (Studies in the History of Medieval Italian Painting, 4 vols., Florence, 1953–62). The latter term was used in the title of detailed study and exhibition dedicated to such Bibles: Le Bibbie atlantiche: il libro delle Scritture tra monumentalità e rappresentazione, ed. by Marilena Maniaci and Giulia Orofino (Montecassino Abbey, 2000). Although the genre originated in the mid-11th century and the earliest examples are from Germanic areas, they became particularly characteristic of 12th-century Italian book production, especially in Tuscany and the Umbro-Roman region.
Genre:Religious genre
Place of origin:Italy
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
28.11.2022 – 12.12.2022
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.