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

Description

Original Illuminated Book of Hours Leaf printed on vellum
Paris, France c 1532
MEDIEVAL HYMN:
STABAT MATER DOLOROSA
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IM-12969
:  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
two-line illuminated “D” begins the prayer:
“
Deus qui manus tuas
…” (God, whose hands, feet, and whole body for us sinners were placed on the wooden cross,..). The
two-line illuminated “S” begins the popular hymn
Stabat Mater Dolorosa
–
complete
(At the Cross her station keeping, stood the mournful Mother weeping, close to Jesus to the last. Through her heart, His sorrow sharing, all His bitter anguish bearing, now at length the sword has passed. O how sad and sore distressed was that Mother, highly blest, of the sole-begotten One. Christ above in torment hangs, she beneath beholds the pangs of her dying glorious Son. Is there one who would not weep, whelmed in miseries so deep, Christ's dear Mother to behold…).
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 nice condition as shown in the photos, with stunning bright colors and gold with light soiling and wear from devotional use.
This leaf comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.
We have been full-time dealers in Illuminated Manuscripts, Maps, Prints and Antiquities since 1980.