Book of Hours Leaf (Elaborate Panel Borders)

This is an original leaf from a medieval Book of Hours. The text consists of 15 lines, ruled in red, written in Latin with dark brown ink in gothic script on animal vellum. One two-line initial is illuminated in blue with white tracery on gold ground with intricate floral infill; six one-line initials and two line extenders are burnished with gold, on blue and red ground with delicate white tracery. Panel borders (both sides) contain highly decorative floral designs with berries and acanthus leaves in blue, pink, green, red and brushed gold. The one-line B” begins Psalm 124:4-5: “Benefac domine?” (Do good, O Lord, to those that are good, and to the upright of heart?). The two-line “E” begins Sirach 24:15: “Et sic in Syon?” (And so was I established in Sion, and in the holy city likewise I rested, and my power was in Jerusalem).Book of Hours are personal prayer books of a devout and status-conscious society and are not only works of art, but cultural documents of the 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, which could both appreciate and afford them.This leaf is encased within a double sided mat within a sealed plastic envelope.

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