Medieval Book of Hours Leaf, c. 1440-50

Original leaf from a medieval Book of Hours. 18 lines of text, written in Latin with dark brown ink on animal vellum. One two-line intial in gold on blue and red ground with white tracery; elevn one-line intials alternatig in blue with red tracery, and gold with blue tracery.The two-line illuminated Q” begins Psalm 41:1-6: “Quemadamodum…(As the hart panteth after the foutains of water; so my soul pantheth after thee, O God. My soul hath thirsted after the strong living God…).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 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.

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