Book of Hours
Hours of the Virgin, Matins, 1st nocturn
F-40bi
General Information
Original Condition
Current Condition
Book Decoration and Musical Notation
Brief, feathery extensions in ink and colors extending from initials on every page into the margin. One extant miniature with gilt diapered background and full rinceaux border with marginal grotesques.
History
Made in Northwest France, possibly for the Use of Arras (the first three responsories for the Office of the Dead are often found in Books of Hours from Arras).
Written in NW France (likely for the Use of Arras or Paris) in the early 15th century. Possibly identical with the Book of Hours sold at Sotheby's London on 20 December 1948, lot 415. "The Property of a Gentleman." Dismembered by Otto or Louise Ege in the late 1940s, leaves used as no. 45 in Ege's "Fifty Original Leaves from Medieval Manuscripts" portfolios, of which 40 were produced and 31 are known.