FRENCH ILLUMINATED BOOK OF HOURS LEAF, ON VELLUM - PRAYER, PARIS c 1532

Description

Original Illuminated Book of Hours Leaf printed on vellum
Paris, France c 1532
Prayer to God the Creator:
"Fidelium Deus..."
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IM-12979
:  Original leaf from a printed & beautifully hand-illuminated
Book of Hours
.
Ruled for twenty-six lines of Latin text and printed in black on animal vellum.
(Size 163 x 108mm – 6 3/8 x 4 1/4’’)
The leaf is embellished with an elaborate illuminated border on each side -
hand-painted with tempera colors in a floral motif with acanthus leaves,  a strawberry (symbol of perfect righeousness), and columbines (symbol of the Holy Spirit)
on liquid gold ground.
Initials are illuminated by hand in gold with delicate gold penwork on blue or red grounds.
Printed and hand-painted
with
rich sumptuous colors
in the workshop of
Germain Hardouyn
- printer and highly skilled illuminator.
Paris, c.
1532.
This leaf contains text from the "
Hours of the Blessed Virgin".
The
one-line illuminated “R” continues the bible verse of Isaiah 38: 15-20
: “
Recogitabo
…). I will recount to thee all my years in the bitterness of my soul.
O Lord, if man’s life be such, and the life of my spirit be in such things as these, thou shalt correct them, and make me to live…). The
two-line illuminated “F” begins a medieval prayer to God the Creator
“
Fidelium deus
…” (O God the creator, and redeemer of all the faithful, give unto the souls of thy servants men, and women remission of all their sins: that through Godly supplications they may obtain the pardon which they have always wished for). .
Medieval Books of Hours
are personal prayer books of a devout and status-conscious society and are not only works of art, but cultural documents of their time.  They reveal a unique combination of sacred and secular imagery - made of the finest materials, by the best craftsmen, for a small audience that could both appreciate and afford them. In purpose and format, printed
Books of Hours
followed the older manuscript examples. The more luxurious were printed on vellum.
This is an original, almost 500 years old, not a reproduction. It is in excellent condition as shown in the photos, very clean with stunning bright colors and gold.
This leaf comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.
We have been full-time dealers in Illuminated Manuscripts, Maps, Prints and Antiquities since 1980.