[WOLFRAM VON ESCHENBACH, attributed to - ALBRECHT (fl. c.1270)] - photo 1
[WOLFRAM VON ESCHENBACH, attributed to - ALBRECHT (fl. c.1270)] - photo 2
[WOLFRAM VON ESCHENBACH, attributed to - ALBRECHT (fl. c.1270)] - photo 3
[WOLFRAM VON ESCHENBACH, attributed to - ALBRECHT (fl. c.1270)] - photo 4

[WOLFRAM VON ESCHENBACH, attributed to - ALBRECHT (fl. c.1270)]

Lot 53
09.07.2025 10:30UTC +01:00
Classic
To bid, go to the website
CHRISTIE'S
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
ID 1450420
Lot 53 | [WOLFRAM VON ESCHENBACH, attributed to - ALBRECHT (fl. c.1270)]
Estimate value
£ 60 000 – 80 000
[WOLFRAM VON ESCHENBACH, attributed to - ALBRECHT (fl. c.1270)]
Jüngerer Titurel. [Strasbourg: Johann Mentelin], 1477.
First edition, William Morris’s own copy of one of the most renowned Arthurian romances of the quest for the Holy Grail. The Grail legend was one of the strongest influences on the art of Morris and, by extension, the Arts and Crafts movement. Scenes from Grail literature featured in his design for tapestries, decorative arts, paintings, prose and poetry. A retelling of the Parzifal story, providing backstories for several major characters, it narrates the courtly love of the knight Schionatulander for Sigune, describing chivalric festivities, travels in the Middle East, the origin of the Grail (a chalice from the Last Supper), etc.. Composed in the 13th century, its popularity endured through the 15th century, owing to nostalgia for the Heroic Age, and its blend of the mythical-religious Grail legend with moral-ethical-Christian teachings, linking the Grail quest with that of spiritual enlightenment. Its description of the Grail Temple is considered the most important architectural description of the German Middle Ages, and it influenced the design of the chapel at Karlstein and the Wenceslaus chapel in St. Vitus's cathedral at Prague.

Until the modern era Der Jüngerer Titurel was considered the work of Wolfram von Eschenbach, whose fame was widespread already by the middle of the 13th century. It continues the story of Wolfram's Parzifal and incorporates his own Titurel fragments. The author, who reveals himself as ‘Albrecht’ toward the end of the work, acknowledges his debt to Wolfram and develops further the master's Titurel strophe. Presumably owing to its length, the strophes are set not in verse lines but in paragraphs with the line endings punctuated. It is sometimes bound with Parzifal, printed by Mentelin also in 1477. The present copy has leaf 4/3r in its first state, with the first line of text omitted in type and supplied in contemporary manuscript and last line printed but crossed through; this state is also in the second copy at the Germanisches Museum, Nuremberg, but it is more commonly corrected with the first line (‘wirdikait vil ungeletzet. Ward’) added in type and last line omitted. Rare on the market: only 2 other copies recorded in Rare Books Hub. HC *6683; BMC I, 59; CIBN W-38; BSB-Ink A-224; Goff W-70; ISTC iw00070000.

Chancery folio (276 x 199mm). 309 leaves. 3- to 5-line initial spaces with guide-letter, other spaces for illustration (some light browning and spotting, single marginal wormhole at beginning, two small ink stains, one with resultant hole.) 19th-century dark brown morocco by Thompson tooled reminiscent of gothic design, spine lettered in gilt, gilt edges (rebacked preserving backstrip, lightly rubbed at extremities). Provenance: Berlin, Royal Library (stamp and cancellation stamp on first leaf) – Frederick Startridge Ellis (1830-1901; gift inscription ‘W. Morris, from his friend F.S. Ellis’) – William Morris (1834-1896; Kelmscott House booklabel) – Richard Bennett (1849 -after 1911; armorial bookplate, his 1900 catalogue no. 238; sold en bloc in 1902 to:) – John Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913; leather booklabel, Morgan Library notes on front pastedown, his catalogue, I, 48; by descent to his son and then donated in 1924 to:) – The Pierpont Morgan Library (sold, Sotheby's, 8 June 1971, lot 28) – W. Senn-Dürck, Basel-Riehen (1904-2001; booklabel); by descent.
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
09.07.2025 – 09.07.2025
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.