Earl of Grey Hours
Use of Sarum
- An artist from the orbit the Abingdon Missal Master
Illuminated manuscript in Latin on vellum
England, c. 1470-1480 (?)
240 x 170 mm
211 leaves. Four large miniatures in full borders and 11 large decorative initials in full borders. Incomplete. Light brown English calf binding of the late 19th or early 20th century on four raised bands with a blind tooled border on front and rear board. Very good condition.
Manuscripts from England in private ownership are exceptionally rare. The four outstanding miniatures were painted by an artist who drew inspiration from Flemish illumination.
The artist of this book owes much to an illuminator named after his most important work, the Master of the Abingdon Missal. We are only aware of very few of his works, but it is possible that our artist was closely associated with him. Aside from his aesthetic sources, our illuminator reveals an independent spirit in his miniatures. Possibly the most beautiful and ambiguous image in our book is the Madonna with Child on f. 24v. The figure of Mary stands tall and upright in front of an orange brocade cloth of honour that competes with the pinkish red of her tunic. Under her feet a meadow with different herbs grows. In the background a fancy landscape with bizarre rocks and umbrella-like trees stretches under a starry sky. The dignified and monumental posture of the mother, who seems more like a statue is counteracted by the agile and mischievous child. He holds a bird (a dove?) rather recklessly in his right hand, while his left hand touches his mother’s neck.
This remarkable book was obviously left unfinished, which could have been due to the premature death of the first patron or some other unforeseen event. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to determine what fate befell this interesting and superbly designed book, since we do not know, who the first patron was. One could imagine that the patron, or the person for whom the prayerbook was destined, died before its completion. Another possible scenario is, that the commissioner was unable to meet his financial obligations, since such a large-format book, for which a lot of vellum was used and (potentially) twenty-one sizeable miniatures must have cost a fortune.
English manuscripts are extremely rare on the art market and the appearance of this hitherto completely unknown manuscript can be considered a sensation.
