EIXIMENES (Francesc) (circa 1330–1409) - Lot 5

EIXIMENES (Francesc) (circa 1330–1409) The Book of Angels [Anonymous French translation from the Catalan] In French, illuminated manuscript on parchment France, Paris or eastern France?, circa 1460–1470, with additions in the 16th century (after 1536) With two miniatures attributable to the Master of Jacques de Luxembourg and a later addition by a Parisian artist (figure of the patron presented by Saint Francis). 186 ff., preceded by a parchment endleaf and followed by a parchment endleaf, complete [collation: i4, ii-xxiii8, xxiv6], very regular bastard script, text in two columns (table of contents, ff. 2–4) and in a single column (ff. 5–186), 36 lines per page, parchment ruled in pale red ink (dimensions: 140 x 85 mm), headings in red, small initials in burnished gold on blue and pink backgrounds with white highlights (2 lines high), large initials (5 lines high) in blue with white highlights on burnished gold backgrounds decorated with colored foliage and vine leaves (marking the major textual divisions and introducing the five treatises that make up the work), illuminated borders (ff. 2, 4, 19v, 35, 91, 144) on reserved backgrounds with a decoration of colored acanthus leaves, foliage, flowers, strawberries, small burnished gold discs, and a few zoomorphic creatures. 16th-century (1530s) brown calfskin binding, with gilded and blind-stamped fillets framing the covers; large rectangles formed by gilded and blind-stamped fillets, with motifs of small flowers at the outer and inner corners, fleurs-de-lis, and rosettes; a central gilded lozenge-shaped fleur-de-lis; the gilded initials “FDC” in the central rectangle [François I of Cleves (1516–1562)]; a smooth spine divided into panels by gilded and hatched bands; small label with the call number “776” at the bottom of the spine (call number of Sir Thomas Philipps), gilt edges, small incisions for ribbons or fasteners (missing). Dimensions of the binding: 210 x 145 mm; dimensions of the leaves: 202 x 135 mm. ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT WORKS ON ANGELOLOGY, FRANCESC EXIMENES’S *BOOK OF ANGELS*, IS PRESENTED HERE IN A FRENCH TRANSLATION (ORIGINAL IN CATALAN). THIS WORK WAS EXTREMELY POPULAR IN THE 15TH CENTURY (MORE THAN TWENTY MANUSCRIPTS IN ITS ORIGINAL LANGUAGE (CATALAN), TWO INCUNABULA EDITIONS). UNDOUBTEDLY CREATED IN THE CONTEXT OF THE NEW FOUNDATION OF THE ORDER OF SAINT MICHAEL IN 1469 BY KING LOUIS XI, THIS MANUSCRIPT MUST HAVE BEEN COPIED AND ILLUSTRATED FOR A MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF CLEVE AS EARLY AS THE 15TH CENTURY. IT WAS PART OF THE COLLECTION OF FRANÇOIS II OF CLEVE, DUKE OF NEVERS, WHO HAD HIS PORTRAIT ADDED TO A MINIATURE ALONG WITH HIS COAT OF ARMS SURROUNDED BY THE NECKLACE OF THE ORDER OF SAINT MICHAEL. THE MINIATURES ARE ATTRIBUTED TO THE MASTER OF JACQUES OF LUXEMBOURG: IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT MEMBERS OF THE LUXEMBOURG FAMILY WERE RELATED BY MARRIAGE TO THE CLEVES. Acquired by Émile Rossignol in 1961

Estimation:€50,000

Voir tous les objets deGiquelloouLivres, Cartographie & Manuscrits