Cistercian neumes - photo 1
Cistercian neumes - photo 2
Cistercian neumes - photo 3

Cistercian neumes

Lot 40
08.11.2023 11:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
£ 4 788
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
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ID 1053154
Lot 40 | Cistercian neumes
Estimate value
£ 3 000 – 5 000
Cistercian neumes
A bifolium from a Gradual, in Latin, decorated manuscript on vellum [northern France, mid-12th century]
A colourful example of Cistercian notation in a Romanesque manuscript produced around St Denis or Saint-Evroult.

c.275 x 198mm (the leaf), a bifolium, 10 lines written in a formal Romanesque bookscript, Cistercian neumes on a 4-line stave, initials in red, blue or green, 2 large decorated initials in red, rubrics in red (recovered from use as a pastedown, and consequently stained, remains of glue and binding material on inner leaves, some fading to text, wormholing to lower margin).

Provenance:
(1) Prof. John Emerson of the Music Department at the University of California studied this leaf for Bernard Rosenthal on 8 March 1989 and suggested that the manuscript was produced in St Denis or Saint-Evroult in the 12th century.

(2) Bernard Rosenthal, acquired in 1989 by:

(3) Schøyen Collection, MS 207.

Text:
The text of the bifolium is not consecutive. The first leaf contains text for the Feasts of Sts Valentin (14 February), Gregory (12 March) and Benedict (21 March, rubric only); the second leaf the Feasts of the Annunciation (25 March) and the Holy Cross (3 May), from: '[Quo]niam prevenisti eum in benedictione dulcedinis' to [...] in quo est salus, vita et resurrectio nostra [per quem salvati et liberati sumus]'.

Script and music:
The text is copied in a rounded Romanesque bookhand of extremely high quality; the music is set on a 4-line yellow, red and green staff with C- and F-clefs indicated.
Place of origin:France
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
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SW1Y 6QT London
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