Workshop of the Bedford Master - photo 1
Workshop of the Bedford Master - photo 2
Workshop of the Bedford Master - photo 3

Workshop of the Bedford Master

Lot 34
12.07.2023 00:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
£ 2 520
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
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ID 993216
Lot 34 | Workshop of the Bedford Master
Estimate value
£ 2 000 – 3 000
Workshop of the Bedford Master

David in Penitence, large miniature on a leaf from a Book of Hours, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on vellum [Paris, c.1420]

A sparkling miniature from an imposing Hours produced in the workshop of one of the great illuminators of the 15th century, the Bedford Master, probably by one of the artists responsible for the illumination of the 'Libro de Horas de los Escolapios' in Zaragoza.



180 x 130mm. Large miniature opening the Penitential Psalms depicting David kneeling in prayer with his harp before God the Father, above a three-line initial in red with white decoration on a blue ground enclosing ivy leaves on gold and four lines of text, three-quarter frame, all within full borders of acanthus, flowers and gold ivy leaves, the verso with 14 lines of text, ruled space: 96 x 68mm, one-line illuminated initials and a one-sided border of gold ivy leaves and flowers (perhaps a little retouched, cropping just affecting the outer border).



Provenance:

(1) The parent manuscript included Taurinus, bishop of Evreux and Ouen of Rouen in the Calendar and was for the use of Rouen; the present leaf was f.45.



(2) Justin G. Turner: his pictorial bookplate in the parent manuscript depicting the Declaration of Independence and busts of U.S. Presidents.



(3) Sotheby's, 6 December 2016, lot 31, offered as 'Property of an American Family Trust', subsequently dispersed.



Illumination:

The style of the present miniature is close to that seen in a Piarist Book of Hours held at the Colegio Escuelas Pías in Zaragoza, illuminated in Paris in the 1420s (see Planas Badenas and Docampo Capilla, Horae: El poder de la imagen, 2016, no 7 and M.H. Cuesta, Libro de horas de los Escolapios, siglo XV, 2011): the rocky outcrop topped by trees behind David is a motif familiar from many compositions painted in the city by followers of the Boucicaut Master in the 1420s and 1430s.



Christie's is grateful to Gregory Clark for the attribution of the present miniature.





Special notice

This lot has been imported from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
12.07.2023 – 12.07.2023
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
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