Ian Ehling
Head of Department
Lot 27
ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS: FINE PRESS. Libro d'ore di Bonaparte Ghislieri. Modena: Franco Cosimo Panini, 2008.
11 December 2020, 10:00 EST
New YorkUS$4,000 - US$6,000
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ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS: FINE PRESS.
Libro d'ore di Bonaparte Ghislieri. Modena: Franco Cosimo Panini, 2008. 3 volumes. 8vo (216 x 152 mm). 136 facsimile leaves, commentary volumes in Italian and German. Deluxe red morocco, central panel of each cover with open-work black leather vine pattern laid over blue and gold silk, three large morocco medallions arranged down the center of the panel, set with semi-precious stones, the central medallions comprising miniature on silk of the Archangel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary; raised bands, spine diapered in blind, floral silver cornerpieces, two clasps, red morocco doublures framed in silver, watered silk endleaves, all edges gilt and gauffered, in a padded, silk-lined cream-colored suede box with an enamel medallion on the upper cover.
LIMITED EDITION, No. 201 of 980 copies. A beautifully presented facsimile of an historic Book of Hours with many ornamental initials, elaborate floral extensions and partial borders, a tondo miniature at the foot of each calendar page, seven historiated initials with full borders, and five full-page miniatures, each by a different Italian master. The original was produced in 1503 at the behest of Bonaparte Ghislieri, a member of an important Bolognese family. In commissioning it, Ghislieri wanted to bring together several of the most famous artists of the period, each of whom was called upon to create a full-page miniature. The intention was to offer a sort of miniature anthology of the best that the Bologna school of illumination could produce at the time. Consequently, we see a succession of works by: Amico Aspertini, Lorenzo Costa, Il Francia, Matteo da Milano, and Perugino. This last is the only miniature ever painted by Raphael's teacher. The codex passed from the Ghislieris to the Albani family of Urbino, and eventually reached England, where it was purchased by Henry Yates Thompson in 1897. Since 1941 it has been kept in the British Library.
LIMITED EDITION, No. 201 of 980 copies. A beautifully presented facsimile of an historic Book of Hours with many ornamental initials, elaborate floral extensions and partial borders, a tondo miniature at the foot of each calendar page, seven historiated initials with full borders, and five full-page miniatures, each by a different Italian master. The original was produced in 1503 at the behest of Bonaparte Ghislieri, a member of an important Bolognese family. In commissioning it, Ghislieri wanted to bring together several of the most famous artists of the period, each of whom was called upon to create a full-page miniature. The intention was to offer a sort of miniature anthology of the best that the Bologna school of illumination could produce at the time. Consequently, we see a succession of works by: Amico Aspertini, Lorenzo Costa, Il Francia, Matteo da Milano, and Perugino. This last is the only miniature ever painted by Raphael's teacher. The codex passed from the Ghislieris to the Albani family of Urbino, and eventually reached England, where it was purchased by Henry Yates Thompson in 1897. Since 1941 it has been kept in the British Library.