Renaissance Book of Hours Leaf

This is an original leaf from an important printed hand-illuminated Book of Hours. Ruled Latin text, printed in red & black on animal vellum. Initials, paragraph markers & endings illuminated by hand in gold, on grounds of blue and or magenta. Noted for its Decorative Borders – the paneled surrounds are historiated or inhabited. Printed by Thielma Kerver, in Paris, ca 1506. Ex collection: Baron Alexander Peckover von Wisbech. This leaf is for the Hours of the Holy Spirit, Hours of Terce, Sext, None & Vespers. 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 & format, printed Book of Hours followed the older manuscript examples. The more luxurious were printed on vellum, as is this specimen.

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