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156 - Middle Ages Fragment of a Latin Book of Hours / Officium Bea…
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Estimate €500 - €700
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Description
Middle Ages Fragment of a Latin Book of Hours / Officium Beatae Mariae Virginis. Latin manuscript on parchment. Gothic Textualis. 17 lines. Text area 8.5 x 5.4 cm, dimensions: 12 x 7.5 cm. Upper Rhine–South-West German region, c. 1400–1450. ON PALEOGRAPHY: The script is a Gothic Textualis of medium to high quality, not a fully developed Textualis Quadrata, recognisable by its laterally compressed letter forms, short ascenders and descenders, and a regular rhythm of parallel minimes in i, m, n and u. Characteristic features include the two-storey ‘a’, the long-stemmed ‘s’, broken rather than rounded arcs with partial fusion of the arcs, as well as systematic nasal abbreviations and abbreviations (e.g. ‘matr’ for ‘mater’, a bar above ‘n’ or ‘m’). The red rubric is executed in a related script that appears somewhat more cursive, whilst the overall style points to a practised, yet not courtly or representative, workshop hand from the South German and Upper Rhine region of the early to mid-15th century. CONTENTS: The miniature visible on the recto, depicting the crowned Mother of God with Child (Maria Regina, ‘Regina Coeli’), serves as the customary visual introduction to the recited Marian oration ‘Obsecro te, Domina Sancta Maria’. The miniature depicts the frontal, representational iconography of Mary as Queen of Heaven: crown, nimbus, blue robe, and the naked Child looking up at his mother. The flat, linear modelling, with an emphasis on contours rather than a naturalistic sense of volume, points to a regional workshop—rather than a courtly, international one—dating from around 1400–1430. South German/Upper Rhineland books of hours featuring Gothic Textualis script, red rubrics and Marian miniatures of similar compactness, such as a mid-15th-century Passau prayer book with German Gothic script and Marian prayers. – Well preserved. Fragment of a Latin Book of Hours / Officium Beatae Mariae Virginis. Latin manuscript on parchment. Gothic Textualis. 17 lines. Upper Rhine–south-west German region, c. 1400–1450. On the PALAEOGRAPHY: The script is a Gothic Textualis of medium to fairly high quality, not a fully executed textualis quadrata, recognisable by the laterally compressed letterforms, short ascenders and descenders, and a regular rhythm of parallel minims in i, m, n and u. Characteristic features include the two-compartment ‘a’, the long ‘s’, broken rather than rounded bows with partial fusion of adjoining curves (‘biting’), and systematic nasal abbreviations and suspensions (e.g. ‘matr’ for ‘mater’, a superscript stroke for ‘n’ or ‘m’). The red rubric is written in a related, somewhat more cursive display script, whilst the overall ductus points to a practised but not courtly-representational workshop hand from the South German-Upper Rhine region of the early to mid-15th century. On the CONTENT: The miniature visible on the recto, depicting the crowned Virgin and Child (Maria Regina, Regina Coeli), serves as the customary pictorial introduction to the Marian prayer recited there, ‘Obsecro te, Domina Sancta Maria’. The miniature displays the frontal, representational iconography of Mary as Queen of Heaven: crown, halo, blue mantle, and the nude Christ Child gazing up at his mother. The flat, linear modelling, which emphasises contour over naturalistic volume, points to a regional rather than a courtly-international workshop dating from around 1400–1430. Comparable examples include South German and Upper Rhenish Books of Hours featuring Gothic Textualis script, red rubrics, and Marian miniatures of similar compactness, such as a mid-15th-century Passau prayer book written in a German Gothic book script containing prayers to the Virgin. – Well preserved This lot is subject to standard tax. A 24.95% buyer’s premium is payable on the hammer price, and 7% (Books and Art) or 19% VAT (Manuscripts, Screenprints, Offset Prints, Photographs) is payable on the final invoice amount within the European Union. This item is subject to the standard tax regime. A 24.95% buyer’s premium applies to the hammer price, and 7% (books and art) or 19% VAT (manuscripts, screen prints, offset prints and photographs) applies to the final invoice amount within the European Union.
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About the sale Valuable books, prints, historical photographs
Auction location
Auction time 10/24/2026 at 10:00 AM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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