North Spain notation - photo 1
North Spain notation - photo 2

North Spain notation

Lot 19
08.11.2023 11:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
£ 1 890
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 1053133
Lot 19 | North Spain notation
Estimate value
£ 3 000 – 5 000
North Spain notation
A leaf from a noted Missal, in Latin, manuscript on vellum [Spain?, second half 11th century]
An 11th-century leaf with unusual script.

c.310 x 210mm, 2 columns of 34 lines written in brown ink in a Carolingian minuscule of 2 sizes, ruled space: c.270 x 190mm, North Spain diastematic (heightened) staffless neumes, rubrics in red, initials in red or touched in red, a Maltese type cross (recovered from a binding and with small segments of internal margin cut out, one affecting text, a few holes affecting text, some staining). Bound in grey buckram at the Quaritch bindery.

Provenance:
(1) Several pentrials in a ?15th-century hand on recto and verso, including the name 'Gulielmo'.

(2) Bernard Rosenthal, his I/196, with accompanying notes by John A. Emerson and Marvin Colker.

(3) Bernard Quaritch, Bookhands III, cat. 1088 (1988), no 39, acquired in 1988 by:

(4) Schøyen Collection, MS 105.

Text:
The fragment contains the Masses for St John the Evangelist (27 December) and Holy Innocents (28 December), with introit, collects, epistle, gradual, Alleluia, Gospel, offertory and the first word of the Secret, from '[effici]mur gratiores' to 'contritus est et nos liberati sumus. / Sec.'

Script and music:
The handsome Carolingian hand contains especially tall letters, with 'a' sometimes rising above the line of minims, 'Nt' ligature, a strong 'z', and words sometimes joined or split erroneously (for example 'euange liste' and 'dece lo' on verso). The leaf has been variously localised to Italy, Spain and France. Bologna has been suggested by comparison to Rome, Vatican City, Vat. lat. 4770. In a 1986 description which accompanies this lot, Marvin Colker catalogued it as 'France?, early twelfth century', while John A. Emerson suggested 'the region of Beauvais, Senlis, and Soissons'. He also indicated that the absence of verses in the Offertory suggests a later date. Eduardo Aubert identified it as northern Spanish, and this seems most likely given the type of notation, which contains the distinctive triangular clivis and clean punctum of North Spanish notation), and the unusual decorated initials.
Place of origin:Italy
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.