Book of hours

Accession number: 
MS M.1172
Title: 
Book of hours
Created: 
Northern Italy, ca. 1470.
Binding: 
Modern black morocco replaced after sale in 1989 by deep green velvet with three bands in a cloth case with a morocco spine gilt made by James Brockman.
Credit: 
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Ladislaus von Hoffmann, 2010.
Description: 
115 leaves (1 column, 11 lines) : vellum stained purple now a pale rose, ill. ; 140 x 88 mm
Provenance: 
Christie's sale, London, 21 June, 1989, lot 22, acquired by Quaritch and sold to Ladislaus von Hoffmann [LVH 32].
Notes: 

Artist: Attributed to Belbello da Pavia (active ca. 1430, died after 1473)
Decoration: 8 historiated initials (1 six-line and 7 three-line historiated initials in gold and silver with foliate extensions); two-line initials with calligraphic marginal decoration extending in a bar down left border and ending in a tracery flourish of gold and silver; one-line silver initials with gold pen work flourishes throughout. Headings and rubrics in silver.
Description of illustrations: 1r: (Hours of the Virgin, Matins) Virgin and Child in gold and silver in the initial "D" of "Domine Labia mea aperies" with a 3-line incipit and 2 lines of text enclosed in a segmented floral border. Unidentified arms in lower margin: crowned double-headed eagle in chief above 3 golden pears (?); 19r: (Lauds) Initial "D" of "Deus in ad/iuto" containing a cowled, beardless young man in three-quarter view, his head turned and his hands raised in prayer; 41v: (Prime) Initial "D" of "Deus" with a bearded, old man in three-quarter view praying; 49r: (Terce) Initial "D" of "Deus" with a cowled, bearded man his hands raised in prayer; 55v: (Sext) Initial "D" of "Deus" with a cowled, bearded man in profile, his arms crossed; 61v: (None) Initial "D" of "Deus" with a cowled bearded man facing forward, his hands joined in prayer; 67r: (Vespers) Initial "D" of "Deus" with a cowled, bearded man facing forward, his arms crossed; 79r: (Compline) Initial "C" with a young beardless man with right hand raised in blessing.
Ms. book of hours written and illuminated probably in northern Italy, ca. 1470.
Text begins in silver: "INCIPIT. OFFICI V/M.VIR"

Script: 
humanist script in gold and silver
Language: 
Latin
Century: 
Classification: