Beschreibung:

THE OCCUPATIONS AND ZODIAC SIGNS FOR JANUARY AND FEBRUARY, ON A CALENDAR LEAF FROM A FINE ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT BOOK OF HOURS, IN LATIN[France, probably Paris, 1430s–40s] a single vellum leaf, framed and glazed (c. 385×330mm) with both sides visible, the visible area c.155×115mm (the sister leaves are c.170×120mm), written in very fine gothic script with major feasts in sparkling gold, the others alternately deep blue or pale red (the red faded and difficult to read), EACH SIDE OF THE LEAF WITH A LARGE KL MONOGRAM WITH A PARTIAL FOLIATE AND GOLD IVY-LEAF BORDER AND TWO ROUNDELS HOUSING THE OCCUPATION OF THE MONTH AND THE ZODIAC SIGN: January with a man feasting and Aquarius, February with a man warming himself and drying his boots at a fire and Pisces, the feasting man smudged and the other roundels with minor defects, but overall an attractive leaf From the same manuscript as two leaves leaves with very large historiated initials attributed to the Dunois Master, sold in our rooms 8 December 2015, lots 54 and 55, citing seven others, including three acquired by the Princeton University Art Museum in 1938. Among the other calendar leaves are some distinctively English saints in gold (e.g. King Edmund, King Edward, and Edmund of Abingdon), which suggest that the manuscript was commissioned by an English patron in Paris during the Hundred Years’ War. The Dunois Master was formerly known as the principal associate of the Bedford Master, and re-named after a Book of Hours made for Jean de Dunois (London, BL, Yates Thompson MS 3). It is possible that the Bedford Master was the Alsatian artist Haincelin of Hagenau, recorded in Paris from 1403 to 1424, while the Dunois Master may have been his son, Jean Haincelin, who is mentioned in documents from 1438 to 1449. Due to their small scale it is difficult to know whether the present calendar roundels are also by the same illuminator or a member of his team, but the illumination and script allows for no doubt of the deluxe quality of the volume as a whole.Condition reportCondition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The