Beschreibung:

The Troyes Master (active 1390-1415) Book of Hours, use of Châlons-sur-Marne, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on vellum [Troyes, c.1410-15] An elegant early 15th-century Book of Hours illuminated by the Troyes Master, an artist named for a Book of Hours made for the notable Berthier family of that city (Paris, BNF, ms. Latin 924). The work of the artist – whose refinement and ‘goldsmith’s precision’ is remarked upon by François Avril – is preserved here in pristine condition, from the burnished gold to the wide, clean margins. 195 x 140mm. ii + 196 + i, apparently complete, collation: 112, 23 (of 4, iii a cancelled blank), 3-88, 96, 10-258 (the final gathering ruled blank, partly uncut and unopened, final folio pasted to flyleaf), preserving some catchwords, prickings evident in final gathering, 15 lines, ruled space: 59 x 97mm, one- to two-line initials alternating blue and gold throughout, eight three- to four-line illuminated initials with three-quarter ivy-leaf borders, 12 large miniatures within three-quarter bar frames and full borders of ivy-leaf spirals in burnished gold and colours, each set above a large illuminated initial. French 19th-century light brown polished calf, gilt and blind-tooled on covers and spine, inside gold dentelle, gilt and gauffered edges, by Dauphin (joints repaired). Quarter-morocco box, gilt title on spine. Content: Calendar ff.1-12; Gospel Extracts ff.13-15v; antiphon for the Hours of the Passion f.15v (lacking final leaf); Hours of the Virgin, use of Paris ff.16-69: matins f.16, lauds f.26v, prime f.37v, terce f.42v, sext f.46v, none f.50v, vespers f.55, compline f.62; Seven Penitential Psalms and Litany ff.70-92v; Office of the Dead, use of Chalons-sur-Marne ff.94-135; Stabat mater ff.135v-137v; O intemerata ff.138-142; Obsecro te, in the masculine ff.142-146; Prayer to the Virgin and to St John the Evangelist, O intemerata ff.146-148; St Bernard’s prayer to the Virgin, Summe summi ff.149-154; Prayer to the Virgin, Ecce ad te ff.154-157; Marian antiphon and prayer ff.157-158; The Seven Spiritual Joys of Mary according to St Thomas Becket, Gaude flore virginali ff.158-160; Prayers to the Trinity ff.160-174; Salve mater and further prayers to the Virgin ff.174v-189; ruled blanks ff.190-196. Illumination: These elegant Hours were painted in Troyes at the beginning of the 15th century, a period that witnessed the flowering of manuscript production in France under the patronage of Charles VI and the Duc de Berry. The refined miniatures were painted by the Troyes Master, otherwise known as Master of the Troyes Hours, who is named for an important Book of Hours made for the notable Berthier family of that city (Paris, BNF, ms. Latin 924). The Master illuminated manuscripts – primarily Books of Hours – for Troyes and two other towns nearby in Champagne, Sens and Châlons-sur-Marne; he seems to have been active from about 1390 to 1415 (see Meiss, French Painting in the Time of Jean de Berry; The Limbourgs and Their Contemporaries, 1974, pp. 406-407). Francois Avril remarks on the refinement and ‘goldsmith’s precision’ that typifies the best of the Master’s work (ex. cat. Très riches heures de Champagne, 2007, p.82); his aesthetic is anchored in the elegant Gothic style of the 14th century, while incorporating contemporary trends emanating from Paris, exemplified here by such ‘bourgeois’ details from daily life as the carved bed draped with a bright coverlet in our Nativity miniature (f.37v). He displays a marked taste for decorative profusion, setting his figures against a rich variety of patterned grounds, and a preference for bold colours. Compositionally and in the style of the ivy-leaf borders, our manuscript is close to two Books of Hours illuminated by the Master around 1410-1415, for the use of Troyes and Sens respectively: the first is held at the Troyes médiathèque (ms. 3713), the second at Edinburgh University Library (MS. 44). Details are reused across these manuscripts: the carved bed an