Peter Riga (d. 1209) - photo 1
Peter Riga (d. 1209) - photo 2

Peter Riga (d. 1209)

Lot 102
12.12.2022 00:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
£ 1 134
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 869509
Lot 102 | Peter Riga (d. 1209)
Estimate value
£ 2 000 – 3 000
Peter Riga (d. 1209)
A leaf from Aurora in the first redaction by Aegidius of Paris, in Latin, manuscript on vellum [England, second half or late 14th century].
From an unusual copy of a popular text, with a distinguished provenance.

c.290 × 195mm. 32 lines, written as verse, the text comprising: ‘Mentis in excessu fit. celum vidit apertum […] [catchwords:] Quod tres Herodes’ (ed. P.E. Beichner, Aurora: Petri Rigae Biblia Versificata (Notre Dame, 1965), II, pp. 645–48 lines 483–547 in the Evangelium), chapters with marginal titles/summaries in red, decorated with blue initials with red penwork flourishing (minor staining, but generally fine)

Provenance:
(1) Apparently from an English monastic library: the parent volume (see below) is recorded to have had a 16th-century inscription on the penultimate leaf including the words ‘huius monasterii’.
(2) Hugh Grosvenor (1879–1953), 2nd Duke of Westminster: sold by the Trustees of his will at Sotheby’s, 11 July 1966, lot 229 (then consisting of 267 leaves, but apparently already missing the first gathering, 13 other leaves, and the initials from three more leaves; it had only six illuminated leaves out of an original total of at least 20); bought for £320 by:
(3) Francis Edwards, London bookseller, who presumably dismembered it.
(4) Colker MS 156; acquired in 1969 from Maggs or Roten.

The parent manuscript was doubly unusual: the vast majority of manuscripts are French and 13th century: this is English and 14th-century. One other English 14th-century copy is San Marino, Huntington Library, HM 31189. Because the text is composed in short lines of verse, copies are sometimes in a tall, narrow, ‘holster’ format (cf. [MLC 361] lot 69).

We are grateful to Eric Johnson for information about the provenance and sister leaves, one of which was Quaritch, Bookhands of the Middle Ages VIII (2007), no 96 (col. ill.); two are at Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI; one is at the University of South Carolina; and another is at Ohio State University.
Genre:Religious genre
Place of origin:United Kingdom
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
28.11.2022 – 12.12.2022
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Buyer Premium see on Website
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

More from Creator

Peter Riga (d 1209)
Peter Riga (d 1209)
£100
Peter Riga (d. 1209)
Peter Riga (d. 1209)
£100

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.