Greek ekphonetic notation with lavish decoration - photo 1
Greek ekphonetic notation with lavish decoration - photo 2
Greek ekphonetic notation with lavish decoration - photo 3

Greek ekphonetic notation with lavish decoration

Lot 21
08.11.2023 11:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Starting price
£ 6 500
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 1053135
Lot 21 | Greek ekphonetic notation with lavish decoration
Estimate value
£ 7 000 – 10 000
Greek ekphonetic notation with lavish decoration
Leaves from a Gospel lectionary, in Greek, illuminated manuscript on vellum [Greece, late 11th century]
A substantial fragment from a deluxe early Greek Gospel lectionary with ekphonetic notation.

i + 10 + i leaves. 260 x 230mm, two columns of 25 lines in an 11th-century Greek minuscule in brown ink, ruled space: 219 x 69; 219 x 22; 219 x 69mm, ekphonetic notation in red, rubrics, headings and capitals in red, 19 large, elaborately decorated initials either in red ink or in brown ink infilled with blue, red and green, inhabited by hands pointing, blessing, holding scrolls, birds, dragons, flowers and a fish (edges somewhat frayed, some marginal cropping, fading to initials, occasional stains). Bound in modern wooden boards, blind-tooled leather spine.

Provenance:
(1) Sotheby's, 20 June 1995, lot 61.

(2) Schøyen Collection, MS 2033.

Text:
The leaves are not all consecutive: f.1 contains Mark 10.19-30, beginning '[τας εντολας οιδας μη μοιχευσης] μη φονευσης μη κλεψης' and ending mid-sentence 'εαν μη λαβη εκατονταπλα[σιονα νυν εν τω καιρω τουτω οικιας]'; ff.2-10 contain text from the Gospel of Matthew, beginning with 10.15 '[αμην λεγω υμιν ανεκτοτερον εσται] γη σοδομων και γομορρων'.

Script and music:
The classic Perlschrift in which the text is written – with omegas and as double omicrons and pis the same but with a horizontal stroke added above, rather short ascenders and descenders and the generally rounded and thick-set aspect of the letter forms – allows us to compare it to other manuscripts datable to the later 11th century such as British Library, Add. MS 5153B and 82957 (also a Gospel Lectionary with ekphonetic notation).The elaborate, bombastic, intricate inhabited initials are reminiscent of those in a 12th-century Synaxarion at the British Library, Harley MS 5785, but are here far more ornate and refined. The text is marked throughout with ekphonetic notation in red, indicating where the chanter should pause or change pitch.

The term 'ekphonetic' was coined by I. Tzetzes in 1885 (from the Greek 'to call out', or 'declaim'). In no case is the musical significance of the signs known, and hypothetical transcriptions are possible only by comparison with cantillation in the modern practice of the various traditions. Byzantine ekphonetic notation emerged at the beginning of the 9th century and occurred almost exclusively in Old and New Testament lectionaries. It continued to be used until the 14th century, whereupon the system fell into disuse, and the meaning of the notational signs was forgotten.
Place of origin:Greece
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
02.11.2023 09:00 – 17:00
03.11.2023 09:00 – 17:00
04.11.2023 12:00 – 17:00
05.11.2023 12:00 – 17:00
06.11.2023 09:00 – 17:00
07.11.2023 09:00 – 17:00
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.