Book of Hours Leaf

This is an original leaf from a Renaissance Book of Hours. The text consists of 15 lines of ruled text, written in Latin with letter batarde script in dark brown and blue ink (which is highly unusual) on animal vellum. There is one two-line, and nine one-line illuminated initials in gold/silver on red/blue or green ground.The two-line illuminated initial E” begins Isaiah 38:10-14 “Ego dixi?” (I said: in the midst of my days?).Book of Hours are personal prayerbooks 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.

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