Beschreibung:

PENTECOST, ANNUNCIATION and APOSTLES, 3 historiated initials on leaves from a Missal, in Latin, ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM [Paris, third quarter 15th century] 361 x 262mm: 3 leaves, 38 lines, ruled in red, justification: 233 x 150mm, written in dark brown ink in a gothic bookhand of two sizes, rubrics and original roman foliation in red, capitals touched yellow, one- and two-line initials of burnished gold against grounds of both dark pink and blue with white filigree decoration, two full-page and one part border of sprays of fruit and flowers between blue and gold acanthus, the historiated initials have staves of liquid gold, modelled with a red glaze against grounds of blue-grey with gold filigree decoration. PENTECOST: 45 x 52mm, (f.141) an initial S introducing the Mass for the Feast of Pentecost with the Virgin and the Apostles kneeling in the open air, their hands joined in prayer as golden rays descend onto them from the Dove of the Holy Ghost hovering above (fold in right margin, tear at lower corner and small holes in upper margin). ANNUNCIATION: 39 x 48mm, (f.218) an initial R introducing the Mass for the Feast of the Annunciation, the Virgin stands on the left of a barrel-vaulted enclosure in front of a throne, on the right Gabriel, with red and green wings, kneels before her with a scroll announcing his greeting (crease in inner margin, slight loss of gold to initial stave). APOSTLES: 365 x260mm, (f.287) an initial E introducing the Mass for the Feast of an Apostle in the Common of Saints, in the foreground, John the Evangelist writing on a scroll and St Peter with book and keys, the other Apostles behind them, including St Paul holding a sword and book and John the Baptist (margins slightly soiled and slight rubbing of the initial). ILLUMINATION: The compact and elegant compositions are very close in style to those of the Master of Jean Rolin II and show the continued influence upon Parisian illumination of the Bedford Master. (3)