Circle of Giorgio d`Alemagna - photo 1
Circle of Giorgio d`Alemagna - photo 2

Circle of Giorgio d`Alemagna

Estimate value
£ 3 000 – 5 000
Auction dateClassic
10.07.2024 10:30UTC +01:00
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CHRISTIE'S
Auctioneer
CHRISTIE'S
Event location
United Kingdom, London
ID 1249712
Lot 17 | Circle of Giorgio d'Alemagna
Circle of Giorgio d'Alemagna
Two text leaves from the Breviary of Lionello d'Este, illuminated manuscript on vellum [Ferrara, c.1441-1448]
Two delightfully decorative leaves with varied, elegant bar-borders finely delineated in a delicate palette of pinks, greys and greens from a lavish manuscript originally made for Lionello d’Este, Marquis of Ferrara and Duke of Modena and Reggio Emilia from 1441 to 1450. An example of the pinnacle of manuscript production in Ferrara at the height of the Renaissance.

Each 275 x 199mm. Two leaves, two columns of 30 lines written in brown ink in a gothic bookhand, one leaf with text from lessons 5-9, matins, Second Sunday of Lent, five two-line illuminated initials in gold on grounds of pink or blue, with three full-length bar-borders with foliate and floral sprays and one full-length foliate border with fantastic animal head, catchword on verso; the other with text from lessons 1-3, matins, Holy Saturday, two similar initials and four bar-borders (very slight browning at lower edges).

Provenance:
(1) All aspects of the manuscript – size, format and illumination – correspond to those of the Missal of Borso d'Este, marquis and then duke of Ferrara (Modena, Biblioteca Estense, Ms W.5.2, lat. 239) and the Breviary was certainly made either for him or his predecessor Lionello, and intended, like the Missal, for use in the ruler’s chapel. It is now usually identified with the Breviary recorded in accounts in the d’Este archives as having been illuminated for Lionello by Giorgio d’Alemagna, Bartolomeo di Benincà, Guglielmo Giraldi and Matteo de' Pasti.

(2) The parent manuscript was sold at Christie’s, 8 December 1958, lot 190, as part of the estate of the 2nd Baron Llangattock. It carried the bookplate of John Etherington Welch Rolls (1807-1870), father of the 1st Baron Llangattock. Many miniatures had already been removed (supposedly by soldiers during the Peninsular War) and after the sale the remaining leaves were separated and dispersed. Sister leaves were sold recently at Christie’s 30 July 2020, lot 3; and 5-19 October 2023, lots 205 and 206.

(3) These leaves sold at Christie's, 9-30 July 2020, lot 3.

Illumination:
The Breviary, a masterpiece of Ferrarese illumination, was written by Francesco de Codigoro, with Giorgio d’Alemagna as its principal illuminator, but in 1443, because of the enormity of the project, Giorgio enlisted the help of Bartolomeo de Benincà, Matteo de’ Pasti (a pupil of Pisanello) and Guglielmo Giraldi. The most comprehensive recent study of the Breviary is F. Toniolo, ‘Il lungo viaggio del Breviario di Lionello d'Este tra le due sponde dell'Atlantico’, Medioevo: arte e storia, 2008, pp.564-77 (see also Toniolo in Les Enluminures du Louvre, 2011, no 45). A virtual reconstruction of the manuscript can be found on the 'Broken Books' website (brokenbooks.omeka.net), where the present leaves are listed. The leaf containing lessons to be read on the second Sunday of Lent would have been bound immediately after the leaf now held in Dartmouth, Rauner Special Collections Library (Cod.002074).
Place of origin:Italy, Europe
Auction house category:Books and manuscripts
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
10.07.2024 – 10.07.2024
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
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