Leaf from a large Missal, probably made for a member of the de la Roche family of Limoges, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on vellum c.1420

Leaf from a large Missal, probably made for a member of the de la Roche family of Limoges, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on vellum
[northern France (most probably Paris or Picardy), first half of the fifteenth century (c. 1420-30)]

Single leaf, with double column of 29 lines of two sizes of a rounded gothic bookhand, original folio number in red in French style (“xx” above “iiii” followed by “iiii” = quatre-vingt quatre, ie. 84) in French style, capitals in ornamental penstrokes touched in pale yellow wash, rubrics in red, 2-line initials in alternate red or dark blue with contrasting penwork, one large initial ‘M’ (opening “Michi autem nimis …”, the introit for the Feast of St. James the Greater) in dark pink decorated with white penwork, on blue and gold grounds and within a thin gold frame, a gold and coloured bar border extending from that and framing three sides of the text, with full decorated border of hairline foliage with coloured flowerheads and gold bezants, as well as sprays of coloured and gilt acanthus leaves at corners and midpoint of outer margin (the latter in mirrored style championed by Paris book production of period c. 1410-20), coat-of-arms in centre of bas-de-page (see below), small erasures to parts of the arms (see below) as well as a few smudges and small spots, else in excellent condition, 300 by 228mm.; in gilt frame with inset panels of old faded red velvet.

It seems as if this was a leaf was once owned by Otto Ege who purchased the original codex in 1926 for its supposed medieval use in the vicinity of Limoges. This codex was originally sold by Sotheby’s 26 March, 1917, Lot 799 and then subsequently listed by American Art / Anderson, 20 January 1925, Lot 288 and by the same company on January 20 1926, Lot 288 presumably from where Ege purchased the codex. Leaves were included by Ege in his Fifty Original Leaves from Famous Manuscripts, number 38. Please refer to Peter Kidd’s blogpost on Otto Ege’s Limoges Missal (HL38) published Sunday 9 October 2022 for further history of Provenance and the history of the sister leaves.