c1410 ILLUMINATED Medieval ANTIPHONARY Miniature MANUSCRIPT Vellum LEAF Gold

Description

THIS IS A TRULY STUNNING AND AMAZING FIND, BEING AN ILLUMINATED LARGE FOLIO ANTIPHONARY LEAF FROM MEDIEVAL ITALY/ ROME, FITTED WITH AMAZING HAND PAINTED MINIATURES, INTRICATELY DRAWN AND PAINTED, INCLUDING A SMALL 'BIG-NOSED' FACE, URNS, FLOWERS,AND TEXT 'MEMENTO', AS WELL AS EXTENSIVE GOLD APPLIQUE IN THE HAND PAINTED BORDERS, INTIALS AND VARIOUS PARTS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE LEAF!
THIS IS A COMPANION LEAF TO THE OTHER STILL LISTED THAT CONTAINS THE PAPAL COAT OF ARMS IN GOLD; WITHOUT A DOUBT FROM THE SAME ANTIPHONALE AS THAT LEAF!
USING THIS DATING, AND WITH THE OTHER LEAF SIDE BY SIDE,
THIS LEAF WOULD ALSO DATE PRIOR TO 1423, DURING THE REIGN OF MARTIN AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 15TH CENTURY.
ADDITIONALLY, THE 5 LINE STAVES WERE NOT USED UNTIL THE MID 1500S; THIS STILL CARRIES THE 4 LINE, EARLIER FORMAT.
THUS, THIS LEAF WAS LIKLEY DONE/CREATED FOR A HIGHLY RANKED MEMBER OF THE CATHOLIC ECCLESIASTICAL HIERARCHY, PERHAPS EVEN PAPAL ITSELF!
THE LEAF FEATURES A LARGE, GOLD BORDERED BOX WITH GOLD LETTERING ' MEMENTO' OVER A DEEP BLUE BACKGROUND; FLORAL BORDERS WITH HIGHLY DETAILED INITIALS IN MULTIPLE COLORS AND OF COURSE GOLD, AS WELL AS URNS, LEAVES, FLOWERS, AND A SMALL FACE, IN THE 'DANTE-ESQUE' ITALIAN BIG-NOSE STYLE.
Page with a few small smudges and many rubbed out parts, some marginal browning and curling at the corners and edges, some of the letters/painting/gold rubbed/faded, and a small section cut away at the bottom, else in decent shape, as shown.
Acquired from a previous seller from Vermont; the leaf had been stored in the
attic
of a homestead from
1830
to now. This means they missed out on the Victorian era's propensity to cut out initials and put them in scrap books- but not all together as one was cut away at the bottom, likely in recent years.
This has never been on the market before
, at least not after
1830, and of course forgiving our acquisition
.
The leaf went on to survive many natural disasters and wars to have likely been brought to the US via the migration of Europeans during the US Colonial period
by a collector of importance.  Measures 19" x 14.5". Good luck!