![BOOK OF HOURS, use of Rome, in Latin and French, illuminated manuscript on vellum [Flanders, probably Ghent, c.1460]](https://gcp-la8-storage-cdn.lot-art.com/public/upl/26/BOOK-OF-HOURS-use-of-Rome-in-Latin-and-French-illuminated-manuscript-on-vellum-Flanders-probably-Ghent-c1460_1567703953_855.jpg "BOOK OF HOURS, use of Rome, in Latin and French, illuminated manuscript on vellum [Flanders, probably Ghent, c.1460]")
BOOK OF HOURS, use of Rome, in Latin and French, illuminated manuscript on vellum [Flanders, probably Ghent, c.1460]
BOOK OF HOURS, use of Rome, in Latin and French, illuminated manuscript on vellum [Flanders, probably Ghent, c.1460]
Once in the collection of a noble van Rechteren bibliophile, these Hours illuminated by the Masters of the Beady Eyes feature an appealing suite of vibrantly-coloured miniatures.
175 x 118mm, i + 105 + i leaves, lacking calendar, 21 lines, ruled space: 114 x 68mm, 13 large miniatures on inserted leaves facing large illuminated initials all within full borders, 13 small miniatures within three-sided borders, one full-page armorial. Gilt-stamped calf (scuffed, lacking clasps).
Provenance: (1) Written and illuminated in Flanders for the export market, with liturgy for the use of Rome. (2) The devotional texts in Middle French (in use c.1400-c.1600), which were written on blank leaves added to the manuscript during a later rebind, indicate early ownership within a French-speaking family. (3) The armorial added on f.36 is that of the counts van Rechteren, the ancient Dutch-German noble family.
Content: Added Passion extracts and devotional sequences in Middle French ff.1-13r; Hours of the Cross ff.14-15v; Hours of the Holy Spirit ff.17-18v; Mass of the Virgin ff.20-23; Gospel extracts ff.23v-27; Obsecro te in the masculine ff.27v-30; O intemerata ff.30-31; Suffrages ff.32-35v; Hours of the Virgin, use of Rome, ff.37-74v; Penitential Psalms f.76-83; Litany and Collect ff.83-87; Office of the Dead ff.89-98; added devotional sequences in Middle French ff.99-105.
Illumination: The miniatures are by the Masters of the Beady Eyes (Maitres aux Yeux-Bridés), named from their distinctive manner of delineating eyes with firm dark lines and a beady dot; the Masters’ work was particularly popular on the export market. Although their oeuvre relates to that of the earlier Masters of the Gold Scrolls, localised to Bruges, the Masters of the Beady Eyes were active mainly in Ghent in the third quarter of the 15th century. The stylistic and formal vocabulary employed in the miniatures is close to a Book of Hours in Cambridge (Fitzwilliam Museum, MS 142), with formulaic patterned backgrounds, comparable compositions and a palette dominated by reds, blues and pink recognisable across the manuscripts.
The subjects of the large miniatures are as follows: Crucifixion f.13v; Pentecost f.16v; Virgin and Child f.19v; Van Rechteren armorial (later addition) f.36; Annunciation f.36v; Visitation f.44v; Nativity f.53v; Annunciation to the Shepherds f.57v; Adoration of the Magi 60v; Presentation in the Temple 63v; Massacre of the Innocents 66v; Flight into Egypt 71v; Last Judgement f.75v; Raising of Lazarus f.88v.
Small miniatures on ff.23v, 24v, 25v, 26v, 27v, 32, 32v, 33, 33v, 34, 34v, 35, and 35v.
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BOOK OF HOURS, use of Rome, in Latin and French, illuminated manuscript on vellum [Flanders, probably Ghent, c.1460]
Once in the collection of a noble van Rechteren bibliophile, these Hours illuminated by the Masters of the Beady Eyes feature an appealing suite of vibrantly-coloured miniatures.
175 x 118mm, i + 105 + i leaves, lacking calendar, 21 lines, ruled space: 114 x 68mm, 13 large miniatures on inserted leaves facing large illuminated initials all within full borders, 13 small miniatures within three-sided borders, one full-page armorial. Gilt-stamped calf (scuffed, lacking clasps).
Provenance: (1) Written and illuminated in Flanders for the export market, with liturgy for the use of Rome. (2) The devotional texts in Middle French (in use c.1400-c.1600), which were written on blank leaves added to the manuscript during a later rebind, indicate early ownership within a French-speaking family. (3) The armorial added on f.36 is that of the counts van Rechteren, the ancient Dutch-German noble family.
Content: Added Passion extracts and devotional sequences in Middle French ff.1-13r; Hours of the Cross ff.14-15v; Hours of the Holy Spirit ff.17-18v; Mass of the Virgin ff.20-23; Gospel extracts ff.23v-27; Obsecro te in the masculine ff.27v-30; O intemerata ff.30-31; Suffrages ff.32-35v; Hours of the Virgin, use of Rome, ff.37-74v; Penitential Psalms f.76-83; Litany and Collect ff.83-87; Office of the Dead ff.89-98; added devotional sequences in Middle French ff.99-105.
Illumination: The miniatures are by the Masters of the Beady Eyes (Maitres aux Yeux-Bridés), named from their distinctive manner of delineating eyes with firm dark lines and a beady dot; the Masters’ work was particularly popular on the export market. Although their oeuvre relates to that of the earlier Masters of the Gold Scrolls, localised to Bruges, the Masters of the Beady Eyes were active mainly in Ghent in the third quarter of the 15th century. The stylistic and formal vocabulary employed in the miniatures is close to a Book of Hours in Cambridge (Fitzwilliam Museum, MS 142), with formulaic patterned backgrounds, comparable compositions and a palette dominated by reds, blues and pink recognisable across the manuscripts.
The subjects of the large miniatures are as follows: Crucifixion f.13v; Pentecost f.16v; Virgin and Child f.19v; Van Rechteren armorial (later addition) f.36; Annunciation f.36v; Visitation f.44v; Nativity f.53v; Annunciation to the Shepherds f.57v; Adoration of the Magi 60v; Presentation in the Temple 63v; Massacre of the Innocents 66v; Flight into Egypt 71v; Last Judgement f.75v; Raising of Lazarus f.88v.
Small miniatures on ff.23v, 24v, 25v, 26v, 27v, 32, 32v, 33, 33v, 34, 34v, 35, and 35v.
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