Dr. Jörn Günther • Antiquariat
www.guenther-rarebooks.com

CONTENTS

Manuscripts

  1. Glossed Gospels of St Luke and St John,
    Paris or northern France, c. 1210
  2. Psalter with calendar for the diocese of Trier,
    Germany,Trier, c. 1220-40
  3. Psalter and book of hours for the use of Paris,
    illuminated in the du Prat atelier, France, Paris,
    c. 1250-60
  4. Biblia latina, pocket bible, France, Paris, c. 1250
  5. Antiphonary, sanctoral volume, Italy,
    Emilia-Romagna, c. 1270-75
  6. Psalter for the use of Auxerre, France,
    Burgundy or Paris, c. 1300
  7. Antiphonary for a Franciscan convent,
    illuminated by Neri da Rimini, Italy,
    Emilia-Romagna, dated 1314
  8. Vita Sancti Antonii Eremitae – Inventio et
    Translatio, illuminated by the Maestro del 1328,
    Italy, Bologna, c. 1320
  9. Schönrainer Liederhandschrift. Middle High
    German Minnesang manuscript, Germany,
    Hesse, c. 1330
  10. Missale Romanum, illuminated in the workshop
    of Cristoforo Orimina, Italy, Naples, c. 1355
  11. Boethius, De consolatione philosophiae and
    Jean de Meun, Testament, France, Paris, c. 1400
  12. Guido de Columna, Historia destructionis Troiae
    and Giovanni Boccaccio, Il Filostrato, Italy,
    Naples, dated 1414 and 1413
  13. Book of hours for the use of Paris, illuminated
    by the workshop of the Bedford Master, France,
    Paris, c. 1405-10
  14. Compilation of pastoral and mystical texts
    from the library of the Celestines of Marcoussis,
    illuminated by the Hoo Master, France, Paris,
    c. 1425-35
  15. Book of hours for the use of Toul, illuminated
    by the Master of Pommersfelden 351, France,
    Toul or Metz, c. 1435-40
  16. Dominican hymnal, illuminated by the
    Master of 1446, Italy, Bologna, c. 1450
  17. Nicolaus de Lyra, Postilla litteralis super
    Vetus Testamentum, two volumes, Italy,
    Ferrara?, 1441-46
  18. Compilation of history bible and world chronicle,
    the Antichrist and the XV signs and other texts,
    Austria, c. 1450
  19. Book of hours and psalter in Dutch, illuminated
    by the Master of the Haarlem Bible, Masters of
    Otto von Moerdrecht, Masters of Gijsbrecht
    van Brederode et al., northern Netherlands,
    Haarlem, dated 1453
  20. Book of hours for the use of Rome, with
    calendar of Bruges, illuminated by the Master of
    Buchanan E.5, Flanders, Bruges, c. 1450-60
  21. Chronique anonyme universelle, parchment
    scroll, illuminated by the Master of Étienne
    Sauderat, France, Paris?, c. 1450 with additions
    after 1461 and 1467
  22. Psalter with hymnal, illuminated
    by the workshop of Bartolomeo Varnucci,
    Italy, Florence, c. 1460-70
  23. Martin Le Franc, L’Estrif de Fortune et de Vertu,
    illuminated by the Master of the Échevinage
    de Rouen, France, Rouen, c. 1465-75
  24. Book of hours for the use of Utrecht in the Dutch
    translation of Geert Grote, illuminated by one of
    the Masters of Gijsbrecht van Brederode, northern
    Netherlands, probably Utrecht, c. 1465-70
  25. Missale Fratrum Minorum for the convent
    of S. Francesco di Montone, near Perugia,
    illuminated by Bartelomeo and Giapeco
    Caporali, Italy, Perugia, 1469
  26. Book of hours for the use of Rome with
    adaptations for Poitiers and a calendar for
    Angers, illuminated by Maître François,
    France, Paris, c. 1470
  27. Psalter with hymnal, illuminated by the
    workshop of Mariano del Buono di Jacopo,
    Italy, Florence, c. 1470-75
  28. Book of hours for the use of Rome, illuminated
    by Martino da Modena, Italy, Ferrara, c. 1480-85
  29. Book of hours for Dominican use, illuminated
    by the workshop of Matteo Felice, Italy,
    Naples, c. 1480
  30. Giovanni Boccaccio, Elegia di Madonna
    Fiammetta, illuminated by Attavante degli
    Attavanti, Italy, Florence, c. 1480
  31. Book of hours for the use of Rome, Italy,
    Sicily or Naples, c. 1480-90
  32. Olivier de la Marche, Le chevalier délibéré and
    other texts, Flanders, c. 1484
  33. Prayerbook in German, Germany, Nuremberg,
    c. 1495-1500
  34. Fencing treatise with pen-and-ink drawings,
    southern Germany,Augsburg, c. 1490-1500
  35. Book of hours for the use of Paris in Latin
    and French, illuminated by an artist from the
    circle of Jean Pichore, France, Paris, c. 1500
  36. Passion prayerbook in Latin with a prayer for
    the Church of All Saints in Wittenberg, Flanders,
    Bruges, after 1517
  37. Diploma for Statilio Paolino on his award of a
    doctorate in law from the University of
    Perugia, Italy, Perugia, dated 29 October 1582
  38. Album with Italian, mainly Venetian, costumes and
    characters from the Commedia dell’Arte, Italy,
    Venice?, first quarter of the 17th century

    Miniatures

  39. Funeral mass for a dignitary, miniature from a
    breviary, France,Avignon, c. 1340-45 128
  40. A pope distributing the decretals, miniature from
    a manuscript of canon law, France, Languedoc,
    c. 1320
  41. The Adoration of the Magi, historiated initial ‘D’
    on a leaf from a missal, Italy, Siena, c. 1400-10
  42. Two martyr saints, historiated initial ‘P’ on a leaf
    from a gradual for Lucca Cathedral, illuminated by
    Martino di Bartolomeo. Italy, Lucca, c. 1394-95
  43. Investiture of St Clare on a cutting from a
    Franciscan antiphonary, Italy, Bologna or Veneto,
    c. 1430-40
  44. Trinity, historiated initial ‘G’ on a cutting from
    a choirbook, France, Savoy, c. 1450 138
  45. King David playing the psaltery, historiated
    initial ‘E’ on a leaf from a psalter, illuminated by
    Jacopo da Balsemo, Italy, Bergamo, c. 1450-55
  46. The Creation of Eve, historiated initial ‘I’ on a
    cutting from a choirbook, illuminated by
    Bonifacio Bembo, Italy, Lombardy, c. 1445
  47. Jesaia before the Almighty, historiated initial ‘A’
    on a leaf from an antiphonary, illuminated by
    a follower of the Maestro delle Vitae Imperatorum,
    Italy, Lombardy, c. 1460
  48. Batsheba bathing, miniature from the Hours of
    Guyot II Le Peley, illuminated by Jean Colombe,
    France, Bourges, c. 1480
  49. The miracle of St Michael on Mount Gargano,
    miniature from a choirbook, illuminated by
    Attavante degli Attavanti, Italy, Florence,
    between 1473 and 1502
  50. Christ taking leave of his mother, miniature
    mounted on wood, illuminated by Jacopo del
    Giallo?, Italy, Rome, c. 1540

    Key to bibliographical references

The rediscovery of a lost miniature from the splendid Le Peley Hours

48 Batsheba bathing

Miniature on vellum from the Hours of Guyot II Le Peley, illuminated by Jean Colombe. France, Bourges, c. 1480.

104 x 60-62 mm, miniature cut around its frame.Verso: 18 lines of text in brown Cursiva Formata (Bastarda), capitals in gold on purple and violet ground, justification: 69 x 48 mm. – Recto in fine condition, minor rubbing, some retouches in the upper portion; verso: flaking of colour pigments has laid bare underdrawings of a historiated border.Text barely legible, as the miniature had been glued onto a leaf from a 15th-century manuscript, blue stains all over the script.

PROVENANCE: Private collection Germany.

TEXT: “… rere mei domine (…) Discedite a me omnes qui…” Verso: Beginning of Psalm 6, the first of the Penitential Psalms, whose first words must have been inscribed on the frame underneath the miniature on the recto. The passage precedes the text on fol. 101 of the Le Peley Hours.

ILLUMINATION: A young girl with long golden hair is standing in the shallow water of a river. Her naked body is exposed to the beholder in an overtly sensual pose, while her eyes, furtively glancing to the left, avoid direct contact. The scene is set in a wide landscape, dominated by a castle with several towers and a bridge spanning the river.To the right the spire of a cathedral shows behind a hill, while the silhouette of another fortress appears in the distant background. Even without the figure of King David who is missing in the present miniature the scene can be identified as Batsheba bathing, one of the standard subjects illustrating the Penitential Psalms in French books of hours. The miniature may be attributed to Jean Colombe, one of the most prolific French illuminators of the later half of the 15th century. The archival research by Jean-Yves Ribault and the manuscript studies by Claude Schaefer and François Avril have provided a relatively clear picture of Colombe’s life and career.The beginning of his activity may be situated around 1460-65.Working at first for the local elite of Bourges he soon attracted the attention of Charlotte of Savoy, queen to Louis XI, and received commissions for manuscripts from various members of the court. It was probably also through Queen Charlotte that Colombe was introduced to her nephew, Charles I, duke of Savoy, who charged him with completing the illumination of two outstanding manuscripts in his library, the famous Très Riches Heures of Jean de Berry and the splendid Apocalypse by Jean Bapteur and Perronet Lamy (Escorial, E. Vit. 5). In 1486 Colombe was appointed official illuminator to the court of Savoy. He retained this position probably up to 1488, when he moved back to Bourges, where he died between 1493 and 1498. One of Colombe’s undisputed chef-d’œuvres is the book of hours for Jean de Laval, seigneur de Châtillon and governor of Champagne. This spectacular manuscript containing no less than 1432 miniatures, of which 157 are full-page,was illuminated in two campaigns, between 1470 and 1475 and after 1485. The dimensions of our cutting and the text portions on its verso reveal its provenance from another luxurious book of hours, whose patron has been identified as Guyot II of the prosperous Troyenne family Le Peley. It appeared on the market only last year and has been acquired by the Médiathèque de l’Agglomération Troyenne (Christie’s, London, 8 June, 2005, lot 31; cf. Delcourt 2005). The lavish illumination of this codex consists of 14 full-page miniatures with elaborate architectural borders. The text pages are decorated with a cycle of scenes from the Old Testament extending over the bas-de-page zone of the entire manuscript, while small miniatures relating to the respective text complete the illustration. In two instances, the openings of the Office of the Virgin and of the Hours of the Cross, two miniatures are set face to face thus forming a diptych. The same arrangement would have been used for the opening of the Penitential Psalms, where the parent manuscript lacks two leaves. A miniature showing King David must have preceded the depiction of Batsheba on the same double page. This explains the absence of David in the bathing scene as well as the woman’s coquettish glance to the left. An interesting motif is the castle, which can be identified as Mehun-sur-Yevre (Département du Cher). Constructed by Jean de Berry from 1366 onwards it became a refuge for King Charles VII during the English occupation of Paris. Of the exquisite castle, which the French chronicler Froissart praised as “l’une des plus belles demeures du monde”, only a ruin survives today. In the miniature the building is seen from the east.The same castle, this time seen from the west, figures in the background of the Annunciation of the Le Peley Hours. Finally the verso of our cutting, though badly mutilated, deserves mention. Interestingly, with the flaking of the colour pigments preparatory drawings in a swift hand have been uncovered, showing a scene with Moses in the bas-de-page and a woman standing in the left margin. She faces to the right towards a man greeting her on the opposite margin of fol. 101 of the Le Peley Hours. These figures most likely represent Batsheba being summoned to David by a messenger. The rediscovery of this beautiful miniature is of high significance, as it constitutes a valuable addition to what may without exaggeration be called one of Colombe’s finest manuscripts.

LITERATURE:This miniature will be published in a forthcoming article by Katharina Georgi. Avril/Reynaud 1993, pp. 326-338; Schaefer 19941, pp. 283- 286; Schaefer 19942 (for earlier articles by the author see note 1); Ribault 1999; Avril 2003, pp. 386-394; sales cat. Christie’s, 8 June, 2005, lot 31; Delcourt 2005; Jacob 2006.