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

Circle of Giorgio d`Alemagna

Lot 15
10.07.2024 10:30UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
£ 1 890
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
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ID 1249762
Lot 15 | Circle of Giorgio d'Alemagna
Estimate value
£ 3 000 – 5 000
Circle of Giorgio d'Alemagna
A text leaf from the Breviary of Lionello d'Este, illuminated manuscript on vellum [Ferrara, c.1441-1448]
An attractive, elegant leaf from a masterpiece of Ferrarese illumination, the Breviary of Lionello d'Este, also known as the Llangattock Breviary, the consecutive leaf now at the Louvre.

270 x 200mm. Two columns of 30 lines written in brown ink in a gothic bookhand, rubrics in red, the text from lessons 5-9, the feast of St Francis, ‘[Audit in nivis frigore projectus] jace rustice futurus pastor gregis’ to ‘in orando consolationis suavitate repletus’, five two-line opening initials of burnished gold on pink or blue grounds with four full-length bar-borders with terminal and marginal sprays of scrolling penwork tendrils supporting foliage, flowers and gold discs (a light vertical crease to one text column not affecting legibility, some minor marginal cockling).

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) This leaf sold Sotheby's, 8 December 2015, lot 12. The leaf which immediately preceded this one in the parent volume is now in the Louvre, Paris (see F. Toniolo, Les enluminures du Louvre, 2011, no 45).

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 present leaf would originally have been bound next to the leaf now in the Musée du Louvre, Paris (Cabinet des dessins, RF51871) containing the preceding Lessons 1-4 and attributed to Giorgio d’Alemagna (see F. Toniolo in Les enluminures du Louvre, 2011, no 45). 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. A virtual reconstruction of the manuscript can be found on the 'Broken Books' website (brokenbooks.omeka.net), where the present leaf is listed.
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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