Saturday 1 September 2018

Au Vélin d'or [II]

The other item in the 1929 catalogue that caught my eye is this:
Described as St Peter holding a key, in red green and yellow, on a leaf 26×23cm:

The reproduction is not very good, but one can see enough script to ascertain that it is southern French or Spanish, probably no earlier than c.1200, but the draperies are formed in a way that feels very 'Romanesque'; this is more apparent if the contrast of the image is increased:

This style of draperies, combined with the script, dimensions, and reported palette, are enough to confirm that this leaf comes from the same manuscript as a leaf I have working on during the past few years, of which this is a detail:

The Barroux leaf is now the fourteenth leaf or cutting I have found; others are in the Princeton Museum of Art; the Lilly Library; and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. I helped catalogue another for sale at Christie's in November 2016, and several more are reproduced in the 1907 catalogue of the collection of Robert Forrer:
[The lower left detail is the one shown above in colour]
The leaves have been trimmed at top and bottom, so that they are now rather square in shape; they look like this:
[source]
Those I have identified so far are:
  • (1 May; Sts Philip & James) “V”. Decorative, incorporating a young man’s head. Lilly Library, Ricketts MS 80.
  • (30 June; St Paul) “Q”. St Peter. Barroux, 1929, no. 55.
  • (10 August). “Q”. Martyrdom of St Laurence. Princeton, PMA, 1997-546.
  • (20 August). “P”. St Bernard. Forrer, 1907.
  • (29 August). “M”. John the Baptist(?) being beheaded. Christie’s, 2016.
  • (1 November; All Saints). “I”. Christ Blessing. Forrer, 1907.
  • (11 November). “H”. St Martin dividing his cloak. Forrer, 1907
  • (26 December). “S”. Martyrdom of St Stephen. Forrer, 1907
  • Dedication of a Church. “O”. A Cross on an altar. PMA, 1997-547.
  • De Tobias. “P”. Tobias and Sarah kneeling, with Raphael(?). PMA, y1027.
  • De Macchabeis. “A”. Christ Enthroned. Boston, MFA, 17.530.
  • Office of the Dead. “C”. Angel Sounding the Last Trump. MFA, 17.529.
  • Initial “A”. Zoomorphic initial with quadruped and human-headed dragon. Forrer, 1907.
  • Initial “C”. Female saint. Forrer, 1907
  • Initial “E”. Bishop blessing. Forrer, 1907
  • Initial “F”. John the Baptist(?). Forrer, 1907
  • Initial “I”. The Evangelist symbol of John. Forrer, 1907
  • Initial “O”. Angel/God appearing to a man. Forrer, 1907
If any reader knows the whereabouts of any of the Forrer ones, or any others not listed above, please contact me.










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