TEXT FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE PSALMS

Flanders, Southern Netherlands, or Rhineland(?), ca. 1250-75. 176 x 135 mm. (7 x 5 1/4"). Single column, 20 lines in a bold gothic book hand.
First line of recto with lettering in gilt on blue and pink ground with white highlights, versal initials in blue with red penwork or burnished gold with blue penwork, ten line fillers in geometric designs of red, blue, and burnished gold, recto WITH TWO PENWORK LINE FILLERS IN THE SHAPE OF CREATURES, one being a fish, and the other the head of a beast, the latter biting the tail of a large gilt bird whose neck and beak extend into the right margin, AND WITH A THREE-LINE INITIAL DEPICTING A PROPHET HOLDING A SCROLL, the initial with a long tail extending into the lower margin. See: Kidd, "The McCarthy Collection," vol. II, no. 20. ◆Bottom marginal decoration (including the anthropomorphic tail of the initial) trimmed away (despite ample margin above the decoration), gold a bit worn, but a specimen of great interest nonetheless, and the decoration still very appealing.

From a lavish manuscript with considerable scholarly interest, this leaf from a very early Psalter-Hours contains a lovely illuminated initial as well as absolutely delightful whimsical inhabitation. The latter are in the form of extraordinarily charming penwork line fillers comprising a scaled fish that appears to be sticking out his tongue, and the head of a dog-like creature nipping at the tail feathers of a long-necked bird. According to a recent Christie's description, "The parent manuscript [from which this leaf comes] was of almost unparalleled luxury: it contained the Psalms, Hours of the Virgin, and Office of the Dead, and apparently had a historiated initial for every psalm, hymn, prayer, canticle, etc.--more than 200 in total--and there is evidence that it may also have had between thirty and forty full-page prefatory miniatures." The present leaf is of particular interest because it contains the opening line of the Psalms, "[B]eatus vir qui non abiit" in gilt on the top line of the recto. Given the extravagance of the parent manuscript, this page would in all likelihood have sat opposite an elaborate "B" initial (though its whereabouts today are unknown). Thanks to previous academic research (particularly the contributions of Peter Kidd), we know that the parent manuscript was likely made for a wealthy (and perhaps even royal) Benedictine nun, based on the presence of at least two collects mentioning "our abbess," as well as another rare collect asking for the intercession of St. Benedict. There is still some disagreement over the place of origin of this manuscript, and while scholarly consensus now seems to lean towards Flanders, Southern Netherlands, or the Rhineland region, arguments have also been made in favor of Eastern France, Lower Lorraine, and England. A number of leaves from this manuscript came to market in the second half of the 20th century, and a list of most known leaves can be found in Sotheby's catalogue entry for their lot 13 (a leaf with five initials) at their sale on 7 July 2015, and in Kidd's catalogue for the McCarthy Collection, vol. II, no. 20. Whatever the origin of this leaf, it is difficult to overstate how engaging it is..