A 12th Century Leaf with a White-Vine Initial and an Elegant Scribal Hand

TEXT FROM THE SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST.

AN ILLUMINATED VELLUM MANUSCRIPT LEAF FROM A LECTIONARY IN LATIN, WITH A LARGE WHITE-VINE INITIAL.

(Austria [Salzburg]: second half of 12th century). 300 x 243 mm. (11 5/8 x 9 1/2"). Single column, 27 lines, in a lovely proto-gothic hand, including lines in red and black uncials.

Rubrics in red, two one-line initials in red, AN EIGHT-LINE (83 mm. tall) WHITE-VINE INITIAL outlined in red and filled in with blue and green. Lower margin of recto with a 20th century note in red ink (see below). Recovered from a binding and thus the vellum on one side noticeably darkened (with a large lighter patch where a label may have been removed), the other side faded, with half the text illegible, top edge trimmed close, vertical crease going through initial, much of the white in the capital now a light gray, other minor issues, but still an impressive leaf, the once beautiful initial largely well preserved, with its blue paint still rich.

Containing an elegant proto-gothic script and a striking white-vine initial, this leaf is an excellent example of early Austrian manuscript production. The large initial "A" is formed with foliate designs outlined in red, given shape by coloring in the negative space with an intense azure blue and moss green. This style would later become a model for the Italian Humanist scribes and illuminators of 15th and 16th centuries, who substituted glistening gold leaf for the vibrant yellow paint favored by some artists of the Romanesque period. The text of this leaf mainly includes readings for the seventh Sunday after Pentecost, consisting of III Kings 2:1-17 (beginning "Adpropinquauerunt dies David"), according to the Vulgate numbering. It describes the Death of King David, who instructs his son Solomon to keep the ways of God. With large and elegant letterforms executed by a steady hand, this leaf almost certainly belonged to a Lectionary owned by a Romanesque church in Salzburg. According to the source from which we purchased this leaf, it was shown in 1893 to the Medieval historian (and later the Abbot of St. Peter's, Salzburg) Willibald Hauthaler (1843-1922), who wrote in very small letters the identification in red ink along the lower edge. It was later owned by the Salzburg-based merchant, artist, and collector Carl von Frey (1826-96). It appeared at Christie's in 2010 where (along with five sister leaves) it sold for £13,970. Despite some condition issues related to its reuse in a later binding, this leaf is still very impressive because of its beautiful calligraphy and decoration. (ST20617a)

Price: $5,500.00