**Originally Listed At $600**
Western Europe, Late Medieval to Early Renaissance Periods, ca. 15th century CE. A lovely pair of double-sided vellum manuscript pages, each exhibiting 15 lines of Latin lettre batarde script flanked by gorgeous vegetal motif margins of swirling black vines with lustrous gilt leaves and circular flower buds in rich hues of scarlet, cobalt, emerald, and pink on both sides. The letter of each new sentence is skillfully enlarged and embellished in gold with a blue and pink square and surrounded by ornamental striations. Each line where the text before the margin is adorned with a painted rectangle filled with a geometric motif. These pages likely come from a Book of Hours, a prayer book used by wealthy laypeople or a Breviary for the clergy, the Divine Office; both included Psalms, hymns, and various prayers recited at specific hours of the day. Size (of each page, both the same): 5" W x 5" H (12.7 cm x 12.7 cm); Size (of frame): 16" W x 10.25" H (40.6 cm x 26 cm)
The word "manuscript" literally means "written by hand" and comes from the Latin words manus (hand) and scriptus (writing). The book which this page came from would have been the creation of several skilled individuals who devoted many hours to their respective tasks.
Provenance: ex-Anchorage, Alaska, USA collection
All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance),
we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.
Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.
#166751
Condition
Neither have been examined outside of frame. Both are pages from a larger codex. Both have very light wrinkling, commensurate with age. Otherwise, both are intact and excellent with impressive pigments. Fit with modern metal and glass frame.