HEURES. Lot n° 18

Hours for the use of Rome. [Burgundy, probably Autun, ca. 1460-1470]. Manuscript on parchment of [129] ff (180 x 136 mm), calendar with 17 long lines (justification: 120 x 90 mm), text with 16 long lines (justification: 120 x 75 mm). Fawn calf, spine decorated, red edges (17th century binding). Text ff. 1-12v : Calendar (January 27 : Saint Loup bishop of Chalon-sur-Saône, August 22 : Saint Symphorien martyr of Autun). ff. 13-18v : Pericopes of the four gospels ff. 19-77v : Hours of the Virgin for the use of Rome ff. 78-82v : Hours of the Cross (gap of the Crucifixion between ff. 77v-78) and Hours of the Holy Spirit (gap of the Pentecost between ff. 79v-80) ff. 83-101v : Psalms of Penance followed by litanies with Saint Lazarus, Saint Bénigne of Dijon, Saint Nazaire, Saint Léger bishop of Autun, Saint Andoche of Saulieu abbot of Autun ff. 101-116v : Office of the dead according to the usage of Rome (gap of a miniature at the head of lauds between ff. 113v-114). ff. 117-124v : Prayers to the Virgin (Obsecro te and O intemerata written in the feminine) ff. 125-126v : Prayers for the deceased (Avete omnes anime, Domine Ihesu Christe salus et liberatio, the seven verses of Saint Bernard Illumina oculos meos) ff. 127-129 : Suffrage of Saint Barbara (gap between 128v-129), suffrage of Saint Margaret (unfinished decoration, the initials have not been painted). Decoration Four large miniatures f. 13 : Saint John on the island of Patmos (the eagle holds the inkwell in its beak, very cut-out hills). f. 19 : Annunciation (the Virgin is sheltered under two architectures, one of white stone, the other composed of a golden canopy). Small images on the border : Joachim at prayer, meeting at the golden door, marriage of the Virgin, birth of the Virgin. f. 83 : David at prayer (his harp and hat are on the ground, landscape with small houses with red roofs). f. 101 : Resurrection of Lazarus in a church with a red vault (one of the assistants is wearing a chaperone, which was fashionable in the 1460-1470's.) In the border, a dance of death with the ploughman, the bishop and the soldier. Nine historiated initials Visitation (f. 38), Nativity (f. 49v), Announcement to the shepherds (f. 54), Adoration of the Magi (f. 58), Presentation in the Temple (f. 62), Flight to Egypt (f. 66), Coronation of the Virgin (f. 73v), Virgin and Child (f. 117), Pietà (f. 120). Borders with gold leaves and some acanthus, border on gold background on f. 19. Initial champies on 1 and 2 lines, large initial under the blue background paintings, body of the letter red and acanthus above. Interesting book of hours whose litanies indicate Burgundy and probably Autun. Autun's activity as a center of illumination is known from missals for the use of the diocese preserved in the Autun Municipal Library, produced for Cardinal Jean Rolin around 1445-1469 (see La Bonne étole des Rolins. Mécénat et efflorescence artistique dans la Bourgogne du XVe siècle, p. 76 ; M. -J. Perrat, Le Livre au siècle des Rolin, cat. expo. Autun, 1985, pp. 12-22). In addition to the Master of Jean Rolin, a Parisian artist, the cardinal called upon local illuminators, no doubt from Autun (on the patronage of Cardinal Rolin, see Miroir du prince 1425-1510. La commande artistique des hauts fonctionnaires à la cour de Bourgogne, cat expo Autun, 2021). The style of this book of hours can be recognized by the faces with accentuated features and the landscapes with their jagged hills. Provenance This manuscript belonged to the Le Mulier family of Semur-en-Auxois in the second half of the 16th century. Ff. 1 to 4 contain in the lower margin a reason book signed by Jacques Le Mulier, prosecutor at the bailliage of Auxois, reporting in particular the birth of his children Antoinette, Jean and Jean Claude, and a mission for which he was sent to Lyon. The date 1552 is written at the end of the manuscript. Spine damaged and missing.