Christmas Liturgy - photo 1
Christmas Liturgy - photo 2

Christmas Liturgy

Lot 5
12.12.2022 00:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
£ 6 300
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 869398
Lot 5 | Christmas Liturgy
Estimate value
£ 6 000 – 9 000
Christmas Liturgy
Leaf from a Lectionary in Latin, manuscript on vellum [Northern(?) Italy, 9th century].
A very early example of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day liturgy.

c.220 × 155mm. 23 lines in a fine Caroline minuscule with a distinctive open-topped ‘a’ that looks like a ‘u’, orange rubrics in uncials and rustic capitals, the text comprising readings from the end of Christmas Eve and beginning of Christmas day (‘evangelizo vobis gaudium magnum […] [Luke 2:10–14] Item ad sanctam Anastasiam mane prima. Lectio epistolae beati Pauli apostoli ad Titum. Karissime. apparuit benignitas & humanitas […] [Titus 3:4–7] Lectio Esaiae prophetae […] [Isaiah 61:1–3, 62:11–12] Secundum Lucam […] [Luke 2:15–20] Lectio beati apostoli ad Hebreos […] quem constituit [Hebrews 1:1–2]’), large orange initials (recovered from use as a flyleaf, with a vertical crease, traces of glue, and some overall wear, the orange ink partly oxidised).

Provenance:
(1) ‘The Property of a Gentleman’ (Martegain?), sold at Sotheby’s, 10 December 1969, one of two leaves that comprised lot 1; bought by Maggs:
(2) Colker MS 288; acquired in 1980 from Maggs.

This is the long-lost sister-leaf to a leaf now in the McCarthy Collection (G. Freuler, McCarthy Collection, I (2018), no 2); the McCarthy leaf was probably the first in the parent volume and the present leaf was probably the third: missing between them is text from the end of the reading from Matthew 1:18–21 to the start of the reading from Luke 2:1–14. The work sometimes contains the title Liber Comitis, Sive Lectionarius Per Circulum Anni.

In the early Middle Ages in Rome there were three masses for Christmas held at different churches: the first was on Christmas Eve, at S. Maria Maggiore, the second on Christmas morning, at S. Anastasia (the saint’s feast day was 25 December), and the third back at S. Maria Maggiore. These Roman ‘stational’ churches are often mentioned in the rubrics of Missals, even in manuscripts made for use in other places.
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.
?>