MANUSCRIPTS (by location)
[Aschaffenburg, Hofbibliothek, Ms. 13]
Mainzer Evangeliar.
Luzern: Faksimile-Verlag, 2007. 27 x 35.3 cm, 200 pp + commentary.

Codex Aureus is perhaps the most significant work of 13th-c. German painting. It was created around 1250 and since 1803, as part of the Mainz Cathedral treasures, the Mainz Gospels has been preserved in the Hofbibliothek Aschaffenburg. Comprised here, in one volume, are the four Gospels of the New Testament according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The Gospels text appears in pure gold whereas the Canon tables and the Gospel prologues (not considered saintly writings) are in black ink. The Gospels are written in textura script considered now to be the most sophisticated calligraphic script of the Gothic period. Textura was also the model for Gutenberg’s movable type. The anonymous master of the Codex created 71 individual images and some full-page miniatures to illustrate the New Testament. A unique feature of 13th-c. art is the wealth of images illustrating the life of Christ. Here they are depicted in impressive golden grounds and vibrant glowing colors. Canon tables, large ornamental initials and ca. 300 multicolored small initials adorn this marvellous MS. The Gospels are a testimony of the early Gothic jagged-style (Zackenstil) which conquered German book illumination during the 13th century. The new style with its jagged, angular broken drapery and sometimes overly sharp contours was influenced by the arrival of Gothic architecture and the wish to confront religious sculptural art with an equally expressive and vivacious art form. Byzantine influences in the figural design fuse with new impulses from France to create a moving expressiveness and a three dimensionality of almost relievo quality. Commentary by Harald Wolter-von dem Knesebeck. Limited edition of 980 copies, bound (after the 13th-c. Preetz Evangelarium) in leather with embossed lines, and inserted silver plate and silver medallion showing the Evangelists; clamshell case covered in burgundy velvet. sFr8900  

[Augsburg, Universitätsbibliothek, I.2.4° 15]
Biblia de Pamplona.
Madrid: Eikon Editores, 2005. 16 x 23.5 cm, 544 pp + commentary.

This Codex, commissioned by King Sancho VII of Navarra shortly before 1200, contains the Old and New Testaments as well as representations of numerous saints, plus an appendix of apocryphal texts. The MS is exceptional both for its text and for its artistic content: 976 illustrations in whole and half pages, accompanied by a brief descriptive text; with such an abundance of rich illustrations the Codex represents a peculiarity for its time since the successive narrative of images is more proper of the late eras; with the beginning of Carolingian art text occupies a predominant place whereas only a few subjects are illustrated. It is at the height of the Middle Ages when this form of biblical illustration returns. At this time the Bible of Pamplona appears, together with 2 clearly related and incomplete MSS from the same atelier, occupying a very special place in the history of biblical illustration. The miniatures are realized in drawings made with fine brush strokes and colored with watercolor techniques. Their strong lines, the originality of the composition and the generous treatment of space are very impressive. In that artistic dramatism numerous stylistic elements from various regions and different times are united and achieve a harmonic and expressive composition. The origin of the text comes from a version of the original vulgate and was inserted after the illustrations in gothic minuscule script where persons and events are presented. Limited edition of 980 copies, bound in leather with silver clasps; black clamshell case with sterling medallion. (few copies remaining) €5286  [84-96254-15-1]

[Baltimore, Walters Art Museum, W. 106; Paris, Musée Marmottan]
Die Oxforder Bibelbilder.
Luzern: Faksimile-Verlag, 2004. 10 x 13.5 cm, 62 pp + commentary.

While the names of most medieval book illuminators are unknown, one exception is an artist active in the 13th century, William de Brailes. He created the Oxford Bible pictures, a perfect rendering of the Gothic style with its richly illuminated cycle of bible scenes characterized by fine colors and glowing gold. In each of the 31 folios, copiously decorated or tooled with gold, inventiveness and originality abound; the lively depictions have a narrative force that still impresses us today. Although the identity of the person who commissioned this Bible has remained a mystery (possibly a member of the secular nobility), there was no expense spared for its decoration. The book has come down to us in a perfect state and makes this jewel of book painting a true collector’s dream. Provenance: The bible’s miniatures emerged at the end of the 19th century when an antiquarian in Paris purchased the 31 folios. 7 leaves were sold later to the Wildenstein Collection and went to the Musée Marmotton in Paris. The remaining 24 leaves in the possession of the dealer were then bound in red velvet; incorporated into this binding was an ivory plate, beautifully carved on both sides, a masterpiece of Gothic sculpture produced in the last quarter of the 14th century in Rheinland Germany. The Oxford Bible pictures thus fuses English and German Gothic art in a most creative combination. Commentary by William Noel. Limited edition of 980 copies, in the original format, with binding that replicates the carved ivory plate and 2 clasps; leather case. €2980  

[Berlin, Staatsbibliothek Preuß. Kulturbesitz, Kupferstichkabinett, 78 D 12]
Tablas de las constelaciones de Alfonso X el Sabio.
Valencia: Patrimonio Ediciones, 2006. 24 x 38 cm, 100 pp + commentary.

A catalogue of stars, constellation by constellation, based on the astronomy of Ptolemy as edited by King Alfonso of Castile. Known as the “Alfonsine Tables”, it was once considered a translation, however new research has identified it as an original Alfonsine work, widely disseminated throughout Europe as of the 1320s. It is the first European MS to cite the Andromeda Nebula, unknown by Ptolemy. Alfonso X stands out in history as the patron of the first European program of investigation in applied astronomy. The analysis of his body of work makes sense only if one considers that the monarch was interested in this science due to its practical applications (astrology and talismanic magic) and did not attempt to cultivate it as a pure science. The Ms includes 50 full-page miniatures adorned with gold and silver. Limited edition of 999 numbered copies bound in leather over wooden boards. €3700  

[Berlin, Staatsbibliothek Preuß. Kulturbesitz, lat. cot. 44]
Recopilación de textos astronómicos.
Barcelona: Liber Millennium, 2007. 11 x 15.5 cm, 24 pp + commentary

In antiquity there existed the belief that heros and famous personalities, upon their death, were transported to the heavens and converted into constellations, so that, looking into the night sky, one could recognize their figures by the position of the stars. This collection of astronomical texts written by an anonymous writer contain a series of illustrations that form part of the “aratea” cycle, constituted by 43 drawings representing the planets, stars and constellations, as well as various schematic treatises. Limited edition of 995 copies bound in leather, with presentation case. €595  

[Berlin, Staatsbibliothek Preuß. Kulturbesitz, theol. lat. 4º 561]
Beato Liébana Códice de Berlin.
Barcelona: Liber Millennium, [in prep]. 19.5 x 30 cm, 196 pp + commentary.

This MS, probably compiled in Italy, dates back to the early 12th century. One of the least known Beato sources, and once a part of the library of Carlo Morbio of Milan, the codex is written in Carolingian and Beneventian script and contains 55 pen drawings enriched with pigments of red, ochre and yellow hues. The illustrations themselves are somewhat unusual, being an archaic version of the usual Beato iconography. Limited edition of 995 copies bound in leather, with case . €3300  

[Bologna, Museo Internazionale e Biblioteca della Musica, Cod. Q15]
Bologna Q.15: The Making and Remaking of a Musical Manuscript. Introductory Study and Facsimile Edition by Margaret Bent. Volume I: Introductory Study. Volume II: Facsimile.
Ars Nova, Nuova Seria, 2. Lucca: LIM Editrice, 2008. 24.5 x 32.5 cm. 2 vols, 400, 686 pp.

This manuscript is the largest international anthology of polyphonic music of the early 15th century. It was compiled in Padua in the early 1420s (stage I) and Vicenza in the early 1430s (stages II-III), all copied by a single scribe. The three illuminations are an unusual luxury for a musical manuscript at this period. It was acquired by Padre Martini in 1757 and is a major treasure of his library in Bologna. About half of its 323 compositions are unique; some others are shared with and complemented by the slightly younger Veneto manuscripts Bologna, Biblioteca Universitaria 2216 and Oxford, Canon. misc. 213. It is the most important source for the works of Zacara and Ciconia and for the early works of Guillaume Du Fay (with 78 works, many of them unica). About 50 composers are represented, including native Italians, and composers from the north who were sought after and made their careers in Italy. It is primarily a collection of mass movements (mostly Glorias and Credos, and a few cycles) and motets. Du Fay's Missa Sancti Jacobi was assembled as a cycle only here, and can now be linked with the humanist circle around the Venetian patrician bishop Pietro Emiliani of Vicenza, in which Q15 was compiled. The 109 motets include compositions in honour of doges, bishops and noblemen. 19 French songs were added at the end of stage I, and 11 laude at stage III. Other late additions are the cycle of 24 hymns (most by Du Fay), 9 Magnificats and 3 sequences. For the first time, the complex codicological history of this manuscript is unravelled and the importance of its many revisions examined. The first compilation was originally much larger; the manuscript now embodies two overlapping, superimposed anthologies. Margaret Bent tells this story in her extensive introductory study, which also includes comprehensive indexes and catalogues. She spells out some of the conclusions to be drawn from the partial destruction of the manuscript by its own creator, a unique and extraordinary testimony to changing taste and contemporary reception. Deluxe limited edition, supplied with slipcase. Special subscription price. €750   (more info... )

[Boston, Public Library; Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum]
Rosario de Juana la Loca, s.XVI.
Valencia: Patrimonio Ediciones, 2004. 9 x 11 cm, 40 pp + commentary.

This facsimile reunites two parts of this codex, now divided between the US and the UK. It has 15 full-page miniatures and 15 decorated borders, all executed by Simon Bening, one of the most prestigious painters and illuminators of the time. The MS, made up of the 15 prayers that are based on the 15 mysteries of the Virgin, was commissioned by the Queen of Castile, Joanna the Mad. Limited edition of 999 copies. €2500  

[Brussels, Bibl. Royale Albert I, 9428]
Echternacher Evangelistar.
Luzern: Faksimile-Verlag, [in prep]. 14.7 x 20.5 cm, 310 pp + commentary.

The Echternach Pericopes, from the famous scriptorium of Echternach (situated in what is now Luxembourg), was created around 1030. Just as Reichenau had previously been the first monastery in the Ottonian realm, Echternach was the family convent of the Salian emperors. It also developed its own formal vocabulary, which was based on both older—i.e. late antique, Carolingian, Byzantian and even Insular—and contemporary exemplars. The Echternach Pericopes opens with a display of incredible opulence: two purple pages with fabric imitations (resembling a cover for the unbound body of the book) are followed by a marvellous Maiestas Domini on a royal ground of purple and gold. The ensuing pages are dedicated to the four evangelist portraits, the picture cycle for the Gospels as well as to miniatures showing two saints on a generously applied golden ground. The MS is decorated with a total of 41 gilded miniatures, 13 profusely ornate text pages, as well as over 250 lavishly enlaced gold initials that extend over several lines. Even though a number of scenes seem to follow a predetermined pattern, the monks of Echternach liked to deviate from the usual compositions of their day. For example they created an Annunciation to the Shepherds, which rather than being part of the Nativity, was conceived as a homogenous miniature of its own. The wonderfully glowing colors perfectly match the gold in both frame and nimbs. An absolutely unique feature is the cycle of St. Stephanus, which is composed of 7 self-contained pictures. No other MS is known to contain a similar picture sequence about this martyr. The impressive cycle not only depicts the search for and discovery of the holy man’s bones but also deals with the life and work of the ordinary population. Motifs range from peasants digging with hoe and spade, to vintners being paid with gold pieces.Commentary by Anton von Eux, Bernard Bousmanne & Martina Pippal. Deluxe edition of 980 copies, bound in half leather with heavy oakwook cover and brass clasp—a faithful reproduction of the original; in addition the facsimile is presented in a special wooden box with an elaborate replica of a bone carving inlaid with ornate openwork containing partly painted decorative plates, after a 12th-c. binding of the gospel book now at the abbey of St. Peter in Salzburg. (subscription price valid until the appearance of the publication) €5980  

[Brussels, Bibl. Royale Albert I, iv 90]
Cancionero de Juana I de Castilla. Bibliothèque Royale de Belgique, Bruselas. Siglo XVI. [title of commentary:] Cancionero de Juana la Loca. La música en la corte de Felipe el Hermoso y Juana i de Castilla / Song Book of Joan the Mad / Das Liederbuch Johannas der Wahnsinnigen.
Valencia: Patrimonio Ediciones, 2006. Oblong, 11 x 9 cm, 60, 359 pp, 1 audio CD.

This lovely Burgundian chansonnier, one of the smallest complete collections of the time, created around 1511, consists of 56 pages of polyphonic music with Latin, French and Flemish texts by leading Netherlandish composers. Its 54 miniatures, made up of delightful little dramatic scenes, botanical designs, or emblema in the style of the Ghent-Bruges school of book illumination, have been linked to the atelier of the prestigious artist Alexander Bening (father of Simon Bening). The book lacks an heraldic device but this in no way rules out an almost certain noble connection as its illuminations belong to a group of books of hours that include the Hours of Joanna of Castile (London, BL, add. 18852). Although the songbook was originally comprised of 4 separate partbooks—superius, alto, tenor, bassus—the bassus partbook is now lost, and the altus (=Bibl. Royal Albert I, ms. iv 1274 ) and tenor (=Bibl. Tournai, ms. 94) are incomplete and less well preserved. The surviving superius part, reproduced for this deluxe facsimile edition, still has its early 16th-c. leather binding decorated with animal figures and vines; it is the work of Lodovicus Bloc, a master bookbinder active in Bruges 1484-1529, credited with binding numerous books for Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. Contents: 22 songs without attributions; concordances allow us positive identification of most of the composers—Compère (4), Josquin (4), Obrecht, Ockeghem, de la Rue, Agricola, Barbireau, Busnois, Japart, Pipelare, Hayne van Ghizighem (2), Ninot le Petit, and Isaac. Musicological commentary by Honey Meconi, modern transcriptions by Miguel Ángel Picó, and an essay on the making of a codex by José Aspas Romano (texts in Sp-Eng-Ger). Limited edition of 999 copies, bound in full leather with gold, tooling, and leather ties, after the original. Please call for special OMI price. €2800   (more info... )

[Brussels, Bibl. Royale Albert I, iv 480]
Libro de horas de Alejandro VI “Papa Borgia”, s.XV.
Valencia: Patrimonio Ediciones, 2004. 13.5 x 18.5 cm, 84 pp + commentary.

Illustrated by Gerard David, Gerard Horenbout and others, this masterpiece of Flemish art came about as a commission of Rodrigo Borgia (also known as “Papa Borgia”). The book of hours contains an enormous number of decorations in the margins: flowers, animals, fruits, architectural motifs, and vividly colored religious medallions. Limited edition of 999 copies. €4800  

[Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, Parker Library, Ms 53]
Das Bestiarium aus Peterborough.
Luzern: Faksimile-Verlag, 2003. 23.6 x 34.8 cm, 44 pp + commentary.

Animal books have been known since classical antiquity and they were among the most popular illustrated manuscripts of the Middle Ages. Popular with both ecclesiastical and secular audiences, bestiaries, together with psalters and apocalypses, were widely read in England and northern France. The Peterborough Bestiary, produced c.1300, is one of the largest manuscripts of its kind and among the most sumptuously decorated extant bestiaries displaying more than 100 animals. They are painted and described in accordance with the customs of the time interpreting their behavior from a Christological perspective. People believed in animals that did not exist and fabulous qualities were attributed to many real animals. Today the Peterborough Bestiary fascinates readers with the wealth of late antique knowledge of biology, mythology and philosophy. The book is essentially based on a text called Physiologus probably written around 200 A.D. in Alexandria. Physiologus might be translated as someone knowledgeable in nature. The anonymous author uses this pseudonym to create allegorical links with God, mankind and the Devil, basing the behavior of real and fabulous animals on Christian faith. The text enjoyed great popularity and it was translated into many languages over the centuries and completed with additions from other knowledgeable sources. The most extensive addition to the original text goes back to the famous Etymologiae of Isidore of Seville from the 7th century. The transition from Romanesque to Gothic Art which started in France gave rise to a new style of painting in England. The desire for increased three dimensionality generally led to more graceful and swifter lines. The new aesthetics had an impact on the representation of animals, their bodies now standing out clearly from the background and the swift movements making them appear more natural. The miniatures of this Ms provide a vibrant panorama of the exotic fauna in a manner much closer to nature than preceeding Romanesque examples. Commentary, including transcription and translation of all the texts, by Christopher de Hamel & Lucy Freeman Sandler. Limited edition of 1480 copies, bound in leather with blind stamping after the original. €3480  

[Cambridge, Trinity College, MS. R.16.2]
Die Trinity-Apokalypse.
Luzern: Faksimile-Verlag, 2004. 30.5 x 43.2 cm, 62 pp + commentary.

Among the splendid English apocalypses, the magnificent Trinity Apocalyse stands out as the culmination of manuscript illumination in the early Gothic period. It originated in the mid-13th century and describes with 15 richly colored miniatures, mysterious images and striking language the end of the world and last judgement as it was revealed by St. John. Each of the more than 100 pictures of the Apocalyse was painted with the greatest attention to detail; since all of St. John’s visions are portrayed in the miniatures, it is as if the reader is paging through a picture book of the Book of Revelations. There is an expert use of a wide variety of colors, ultra marine and indigo in the blue forms, at times soft and brilliant, which creates the impression of movement and liveliness. The use of silver and gold contribute to its spendor. It is believed that the codex was intended for aristocratic circles and scholars have surmised that Eleanor of Provence, wife of King Henry II, is depicted in some of the miniatures and perhaps was the patron of the manuscript. It begins and ends with a picture gallery illustrating St. John’s life. The idea of framing the revelations with the life of St. John was an innovation in the history of book illumination which became so popular that all English apocalypse manuscripts of the 13th century followed that form. Commentary by David McKitterick, Nigel Morgan, Ian Short & Teresa Webber. Limited edition of 980 copies, bound in white goat leather, embossed with gold. Front and back covers decorated with the coat of arms of the English royal family. €3980  

[Cambridge (MA), Fogg Art Musuem; Rotterdam, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen]
Pasionario púrpura de Fra Angelico.
Valencia: Patrimonio Ediciones, [in prep]. 8 x 10 cm. 24 pp + commentary.

This unusual MS—executed as its name implies in purple hues—features illuminations by master Italian painter Fra Angelico. The facsimile edition reunites parts of the codex now preserved at two different locations (Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Massachussetts, & Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam). Fra Angelico, or Beato Angelico, is considered one of the most refined and spiritual artists of his day. In the art of the miniature he practiced a style that was particularly linked with the late gothic heading towards the Renaissance: abstract, luminous and dazzling although greatly restrained internally. Limited edition of 999 copies. Special prepaid prepublication offer. (price after publication will be ca. 50% higher) €1400  

[Chantilly, Musée Condé, Ms. 388]
Histoire d’amour sans paroles. Racconto per immagini di un corteggiamento.
Ars Illuminandi. Modena: Il Bulino, 2005. 192 x 127 cm, 30 pp + commentary.

A narration—completely in pictures—of two young court lovers in the north of France at the beginning of the 16th c. The story develops only through the illuminated images—no text—which, thanks to their beauty and exquisite details, show the development of the loving feeling between the two young protagonists. Like illuminated calendar scenes of the period, the painter captures typical everyday activities, rich with foliage, trees, animals, rivers, & city backdrops; the vignettes are made even more poignant with the use of painted borders, resembling real, carved wooden frames. Commentary in Italian. Bound in green leather decorated with a golden frame; wooden case covered with tooled leather. €1250  [88-82651-69-6]

[Dublin, private collection Sean Galvin]
Códice Murúa.
Colección Thesaurus Americae, [5]. Madrid: Testimonio, 2004. 20 x 30 cm, 290, 277 pp.

At the end of the 16th c. a set of chronicles appeared in Perú which had as its central theme the cultures of the prehispanic and autochthonous populations. These chronicles had two authors: Fray Martín de Murúa, a priest, and Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala, an indigene, who included in their works a great number of illustrations. There is evidence that the two authors knew each other and a great number of the illustrations in the priest’s work were executed by Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala. The work of the latter “El Primer Nuova Cronica y Buen Gobierno” (c.120 pages) has 399 drawings. The priest is the author of two codices, one—presented here for the first time in facsimile—is known as the Galvin Manuscript—named after its owner and is kept in Dublin, Ireland. It dates from 1590 and has additions that go as far back as the beginning of the 16th c. Its title “Historia y Genealogía Real de los Reyes Incas del Perú, de sus hechos, costumbres, trajes y manera de Gobierno” tells us about the history, genealogy of the Inca Kings and of their customs, temples, cities, prisons, costumes, dresses and ways of government. The drawings show both an European and an indigene artist. As mentioned, this work had never been published but its text was known thanks to a copy made in 1890, known as the Loyola Ms. That copy did not reproduce the 113 watercolors of the original displayed now faithfully in this fantastic facsimile. The other codex of Fray Martín de Murúa was discovered in the 1940s, disseminated in two editions and known as the Wellington Manuscript. Commentary by Juan Ossio. Limited edition of 980 copies, bound in full vellum with leather ties after the original. €1680  [84-95767-27-9] (more info... )

[Dublin, Irish National Library, ms. 32.513]
Von wundersamen Begebenheiten.
Stuttgart: Verlag Müller & Schindler, 2007. 7.8 x 10 cm. 80 pp + commentary.

This delicate German MS, copied in Cologne around 1460, is a marvellous picture book of the Defensorium inviolatae perpetuaequae virginitatis castissimae genetricis beatae Mariae. 37 leaves are decorated with enchanting full-page miniatures on the recto, complete with short verses of an emblematic nature in German and Latin on the verso. The work is by an unknown artist who took particular joy in this unusual text—illustrating inconceivable happenings such as birds that grow on trees, water that a virgin can carry in a sieve, as well as other better known myths like the phoenix rising from the ashes, Circe turning humans into animals, or the lion who brings his cubs to life with a roar, all that just to prove that Mary's virginity is part of a series of unbelievable but true occurences. The painter, who was probably based in Cologne, is clearly marked by the school of Stefan Lochner: Impressive interiors and atmospheric landscapes of a refreshing colorfulness are distinguishing features of his style, as is the love for details, which requires calm and patient contemplation by the viewer. Commentary by Eberhard König and Ines Dickmann. Limited edition of 800 copies, bound in green velvet (like the original), with golden embroidery; with red leather case. €1190  

[Escorial, Biblioteca del Monasterio, vitr. 10]
Libro de horas de los Zúñiga “breviario”.
Colección Carlos V, 7. Madrid: Testimonio, 2003. 19 x 56 308 pp + commentary.

This wonderful Book of Hours was commissioned by Juan de Zúñiga, member of a noble family from Castile. Unlike many of the books collected by the noble families of Castile in the 15th c. typically created in the Netherlands and Italy, this one was written and illuminated by a Spaniard from Castile. The author was obviously familiar with Flemish techniques, and also with certain French elements, but in terms of the representation of landscapes, the decoration of borders with Toledo Mudéjar techniques and the inclusion of inscriptions in imitation Arabic lettering, he clearly embraces Spanish features. The manuscript, written in Gothic script, contains 19 full-page miniatures representing the major events in the life of Christ. The frames around the illuminations are all unique, with remarkably rich color. From fol. 223 onwards, the capitals, which up to this point had only consisted of ornamental letters, begin to enclose fine vignettes, tiny complete pictures. In the calendar which begins the work each month has on the top half a reproduction of the work traditionally associated with that time of year, while on the bottom half the corresponding sign of the zodiac. Bound in full leather with generous tooling. €4700  [84-95767-34-1]

[Florence, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Ash. 1874]
Libro d’ore di Lorenzo de’ Medici.
Modena: Franco Cosimo Panini, 2004. 10.1 x 15.3 cm. 2 vols, 472, 295.

In the 1492 inventory, following the death of Lorenzo de’ Medici, mention is made of 5 books “libriccini delli offitii, di donna”, or small Books of Hours. The description, “for a woman”, suggests something both small, precious and jewel-like, with pages designed to be turned by a delicate female hand. The codex Ashburnam 18874 fits this description perfectly. Scarcely bigger than a modern postcard, 10 x 15 cm, it is strikingly bound in pure silk velvet, with clasps and frames in filigree silver-gilt, embossed on each board with a large lapis lazuli and 4 pink quartz stones. Everything about this MS suggests an elevated provenance: from the opulent binding to the harmonious calligraphy and the exquisite series of miniatures attributed to Francesco Rosselli, engraver, illuminator, cartographer and painter, who, together with Francesco di Antonio del Chierico, was the greatest exponent of the Florentine school. There are 9 full-page illuminations, with each picture surrounded by elaborate floral decorations enriched with festoons and garlands. But each of the 233 folios of the MS features at least one element, either a capital letter or a frieze, positioned to enhance the page according to the strict canons of the bookmaker’s art. Commentary edited by Franca Arduini. Limited edition of 980 copies, bound in pure silk velvet, decorated in silver-gilt with lapis lazuli and pink quartz.

[Florence, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, B.R. 397 & L.F. 22]
Libro d’ore Visconti.
Modena: Franco Cosimo Panini, 2003. 20 x 27 cm. 2 vols, 302, 334 pp; 2 vols, 560 pp (commentary).

Described as a Offiziolo Visconti (or the Libro d’Ore Visconti) this Book of Hours is in 2 opulent tomes with miniatures painted at different times by two very different artists. The first, Giovannino de’ Grassi, worked with assistants on the first pages for Gian Galeazzo Visconti. This work was interrupted by the death of the duke in 1402. When Gian Galeazzo’s son, Filippo Maria, became duke in 1412 the decoration of the MS was continued by Belbello da Pavia. In the closing years of the 14th century under Gian Galeazzo, Pavia and Milan became two of the leading European centers for the production of illuminated manuscripts. At that time the Lombard school produced a series of splendid illustrated books devoted to plants, animals, medicine and the seasons. While the scribe who wrote the text of the prayer book signed his name, Frate Amadeo, the miniaturists according to the custom of the time, remained anonymous and only external evidence points to the hand Giovannino de’ Grassi as the author of the illustrations in the first part of the book. The other great miniaturist Belbello da Pavia was responsible for the remaining miniatures. Many of these belong to the early stage of Belbello’s artistic development, which evolved from a compact style, rich in detail and elaboration into the less cluttered more boldly colored style evident in the Mantuan Missal. Commentary by Milvia Bollati, Adriana Di Domenico & Giordana Mariani Canova. Limited edition of 500 copies, bound in red velvet over wood, with clasps and bands in silver.

[Florence, Biblioteca Riccardiana, ms 483]
Dono d’Amore. Le ore Capponi-Ridolfi.
Florence: Vallecchi, 2007. 5 x 6.6 cm. 464, 63 pp.

This beautiful MS was probably commissioned by the Capponi family for the wedding, in 1500, of Niccola di Andrea di Niccola Capponi and Antonia di Battista di Luigi Ridolfi. The Capponi and Ridolfi were aristocrats by birth and politicians by vocation, two historical families of Florence whose destinies were innumerable times interlaced with the history of the city, from medieval times until the end of the Ottocento. They belong to the group of moderate liberals summoned by Leopold II di Lorena to administer the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. It seems that the book, according to the style of the decorations, was created during the last decade of the 15th century, a belief that refutes a previous one that gave a date around 1462 and which was linked to the wedding of Caterina di Niccola Capponi e Tommaso di Luigi Ridolfi. The mature and advanced style of the miniatures does not seem to concord with the earlier date. It is one of the smallest prayer books that has come down to the present day, only a few centimeters each side and yet of exquisite workmanship. An extreme synthesis of an art by then at its dusk, as was the miniature in the late 15th century, this manuscript was commissioned to Monte di Giovanni, one of the greatest Florentine masters of the time. In special parchment paper, on which hot tooled gold has been applied, using the reverse procedure compared to typographical printing to give it all of the worn and vibrant naturalness of the backgrounds and the very subtle design of the highlights. Entirely bound and sewn by hand and lined in velvet like the original while the cut of the pages has gilt embossing, following the original. It comes in an elegant case with tooled silver and a commentary by Giovanna Lazzi, director of the Biblioteca Riccardiana of Florence. Limited edition of 483 copies bound in red velet. €1700  [88-8427-022-7] (more info... )

[Florence, Biblioteca Riccardiana, Ricc. 492]
Vergilius Publius Maro: Bucolicon, Georgicon, Aeneis. Virgilio Riccardiana, Ricc. 492.
Castelvetro di Modena: Incipit - Edizioni d’arte, 2004. 20 x 30.5 cm, 2 vols, 312, 172 pp.

Publius Vergilius Maro (70 BC-19 BC)—Virgil in English—is the greatest of all the Roman poets. This beautifully illuminated MS dating from to the second half of the 15th century reproduces the full text of the “Bucolics”, consisting of 10 pastoral poems that relate to the Idylls of the Hellenistic Greek poet Theocritus, the “Georgics”, a didactic poem in four books on farming, and the “Aeneid”, Rome’s national epic poem. Commentary by Giovanni Lazzi. Limited edition of 999 copies bound in light brown goat leather, with wooden box. €6900  

[Florence, Museo di San Marco, ms 558]
Il messale del Beato Angelico.
Florence: Vallecchi, 2005. 43 x 59 cm, 208 pp.

Il Messale del Beato Angelico (The San Domenico Missal), preserved in the Dominican Monastery of San Marco in Florence, is an early 15th-c. Missal embellished by a selection of works by Fra Angelico and other masters of the Florentine milieu. This is the only volume in which extensive work can safely be attributed to Fra Angelico (c.1387-1466), whose frescos adorn the same walls of the convent of San Marco. In regard to provenance there are many reasons to think that the MS came out of the church of San Domenico di Fiesoli where the painter was active. It is certain that it belongs to a young period, the third decade of the Quattrocento, a period that coincides with Fra Angelico’s constant presence at the convent. This fine bibliophile edition reproduces 51 illuminated panels in full size and full color, with gold decorations. An excellent commentary, edited by Magnolia Scudieri, is provided by Maria Grazia Ciardi Dupré Dal Poggetto (history of 15th-c. Florentine miniatures), Sara Giacomelli (codicological analysis), and Maria Paola Masini (miniature technique). The volume represents a just tribute to one of the greatest artists of Florence. Limited edition of 600 copies printed on special paper produced by the Fedrigoni papermill of Verona, bound in tooled leather with brass bosses and a center rosette, after the binding of Ms. 515 in the same collection, which, for typology and chronology, is closest to the original. Please call for special OMI offer. €6900  [88-8427-022-7] (more info... )

[Girona, Museo Diocesano, núm. inv. 7 (11)]
Beato de Liébana de Girona.
Barcelona: M. Moleiro Editor, 2003. 26 x 40 cm, 568 pp + commentary.

The Girona Beato produced in the scriptorium of San Salvador de Tábara stands out for its vast number of illustrations and complex iconographical variety, probably a reflection of its more extensive and unusual text. It begins with a Cross and a Maiestas, followed by a vision of heaven, continuing with 6 miniatures of the Evangelists. It also features genealogies which extend throughout a remarkable cycle of the life and death of Christ (a cycle found in no other codex). Although the codex contains more Muslim elements than any other, it also features countless signs of Carolingian elements. Commentary by Gabriel Roura i Güibas & Carlos Miranda García-Tejedor. Bound in leather, with leather case. [84-88526-86-5]

[Hamburg, Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek, cod. 47]
Aesopi et Aviani Fabulae / Physiologus. Farbmikrofiche-Edition der Handschrift Hamburg, Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek, Cod. 47 in scrinio. Kodikologische Beschreibung und Verzeichnis der Rubriken, Initien und Bilder von Helga Lengenfelder.
Codices Illuminati Medii Aevi, 48. Munich: Edition Helga Lengenfelder, 2003. 17 x 25 cm, 90 pp, 3 fiches (x60).

North German vellum MS, beginning of the 14th c., with 69 fols. In part I the codex transmits 119 Latin Aesop-Fables in the so-called Romulus LBG version (MSS in London, Brussels, and Göttingen) and 16 Fables from the collection “Anonymi Avianicae Fabulae”, all with moralizations. The MS is decorated with 142 pen drawings with softly colored outlines in red or green that are set against rectangular panels of bright red, blue, green and yellow, and framed alternatively. The function and meaning of the coloring is not known because the Hamburg codex (H) never had been studied in depth, and therefore it has been ignored that it is the earliest and the most comprehensive one in a closely related group of eight illustrated MSS. Part II of the codex, stemming from another ms altogether, contains 12 chapters from an incomplete "Physiologus latinus" (predominantly following Version B), and concluding, with the rubric "medicine bestiarum", with 6 entries from the "Liber de bestiis et aliis rebus" of ps.-Hugo of St. Victor, all with little pen drawings. Linen. €240  [3-89219-048-8]

[Hildesheim, Dombibliothek, Ms. St. God. 1; Cologne, Schnütgen Museum, Inv. No. M694]
Albani Psalter.
Stuttgart: Verlag Müller & Schindler, 2007. 18.4 x 27.6cm. 422 pp + commentary.

A milestone in the history of book illumination the St. Alban’s Psalter is among the most significant and richly decorated Psalter MSS and one of the finest volumes of English book illumination. The English variant of the Romanesque period is frequently considered the most interesting period of Insular illumination, characterized by transition and experimentation. During the Middle Ages, the Psalms belonged to the most widely known and most popular texts of biblical literature, both in the private and in the ecclesiastical realms. They were recited daily by both clerics and the laity and used in textbooks for teaching children to read and write. Besides the psalms the St. Alban’s Psalter includes two further texts: the Life of St. Alexis and a letter of Pope Gregory the Great in which he defends the variety of images as a teaching aid. The MS was presumably commissioned by Geoffrey de Gorham, abbot of St. Alban’s, for Christina of Markyate, a close friend of his, to be executed by the scriptorium of St. Alban’s abbey near London. Christina, coming from a wealthy Anglo-Saxon family, decided at a very early stage to dedicate her life to God—she fled from an arranged marriage and withdrew to a hermitage near Markyate. There she got to know Geoffrey who became her mentor and friend, a very special relationship to which we owe this unique Psalter manuscript. The impressive picture cycle was created by the main artist of the Psalter, the “Alexis Master”. This tremendously rich sequence of scenes introducing the book is distinguished by strong body color painting, and by elegant, extremely elongated figures that are mostly shown in profile. The artist shaped the tender bodies using a complex system of deep color shades and lines of light derived from Byzantine models. The backgrounds are composed of blocks of color and include complicated architectural elements. His work is clearly influenced by Ottonian art. Blue, green and purple dominate each single composition of the English picture cycle. All miniatures are set in a golden frame, which is in turn filled with opulent meandering bands of a sheer incredible variety. The illustrations are the oldest surviving examples of book painting from the English Romanesque period. The narrative style of the pictures and the depictions in profile suggest that the artist had religious drama in mind. All 46 miniature pages bear testimony to a successful iconographic symbiosis of Anglo-Saxon, Ottonian and Byzantine art, combined with a creative urge for independent artistic expression. Deluxe limited edition of 1,125 copies bound in full leather with silver clasps. €11900  [3-87560-029-0]

[Lisbon, Archivo Nacional de la Torre do Tombe, Cod. 160]
Beato de Liébana. Lorvao, s.XII.
Valencia: Patrimonio Ediciones, 2003. 24.5 x 34.5 cm, 460 pp + commentary.

Portuguese MS dated 1189 and copied by the scribe Egeas in the Abbey of San Mamede in Lorvao. It contains 88 miniatures and displays a style based on line-drawing and a great degree of abstraction. Limited edition of 999 copies. €6000  

[Lisbon, Fundaçāo Calouste Gulbenkian, inv. L.A. 135]
Gulbenkian-Stundenbuch (Libro de horas Gulbenkian).
Madrid: Ayn Ediciones, 2007. 170 x 254 cm, 364 pp + commentary.

Fouquet (1420-1481), born in Tours, is considered one of the great painters at the beginning of the Renaissance and the renovator of 15th-c. painting. He was formed in the French tradition of the international gothic and developed a new style which integrated the strong chromatic tonalities of the gothic with the perspective and volume of the Italian school as well as the naturalistic innovations of the Flemish school. He is a master painter who not only reunited Fra Angelico’s influence of volume with the French rectilinear style but united the biblical history with the history of France. This is especially shown in the images of the Epiphany where the French king is seen emulating Gaspar in the Adoration scene and the French army at the service of Christianity. The whole page miniatures are typical of Fouquet where the ornamentation is eliminated and the image occupies the whole page making it a real painting. The influence of Fra Angelico is seen clearly in the miniatures of the Annunciation and Crucifixion with very high crosses which separate the crucified from their companions and emphasize the death of Christ. Commentary by Eberhard König. Limited edition of 995 copies. €3888  

[Lisbon, Fundaçāo Calouste Gulbenkian, inv. L.A. 149; Zagreb, Strossmajerova Galerija, S.G. 339-352]
Libro d’ore di Alfonso d’Este. Offiziolo Alfonso.
Ars Illuminandi. Modena: Il Bulino, 2003. 26 x 38 cm, 2 vols, 358, 258 pp.

This beautiful book of hours, also known as the “Offiziolo Alfonso”, was created by Matteo da Milano between 1505 and 1510 on the commission of Duke Alfonso I. Considered the really last extraordinary work of Ferrarese illumination, it includes 29 full-page illuminations, numerous decorated borders, coat of arms and initials. The codex belonged to the Modena library until 1859 when it was taken by the Estense—along with the Bible of Borso and Breviary of Ercole d’Este—and conserved as the patrimony of the House of Austria-d’Este in exile in Vienna. 14 illuminations became subsequently detached (now kept in Zagreb) and the main body of the manuscript was bought by the Armenian collector Gulbenkian; this facsimile now reunites the two parts of this important manuscript. Commentary by Ernesto Milano and Manuela Fidalgo. Limited edition of 999 copies bound in full leather, with leather box. €3900  [88-86251-50-5]

[London, British Library, Add. 11639]
The North French Hebrew Miscellany.
London: Facsimile Editions, 2005. 12.5 x 16 cm, 1494 pp + commentary.

MS Add. 11639, written and illustrated in northern France around 1280 (possibly in the environs of Troyes), is of profound importance in the history and culture of the Jewish people. Its contents are rich and varied, with altogether 84 different groups of texts, including hundreds of poems. These include the Pentateuch and Haftarot (readings from the Prophets), Song of Songs and several other biblical texts; the daily, Sabbath and festival prayers, including those for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur; Grace after Meals; Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers); assorted legal codes and formulae for agreements concerning marriage, divorce and business partnerships; an arithmetical riddle; laws governing Tefilin, Ritual Slaughter and an abundance of other texts including the Mezuzah; the Hebrew version of the Book of Tobit (the earliest extant copy known), a wide range of medieval poetry and Isaac de Corbeil's Sefer Mitsvot Katan (also the earliest known copy, composed 1277). The codex is a masterpiece of its time and place, bearing witness to the artistic quality achieved in northern France at this period. Benjamin the Scribe collaborated with artists whose skills are comparable with those makers of the finest contemporary Gothic manuscripts. The numerous full-page miniatures illustrate famous scenes from the Bible, and marginal decorations, with their constantly varying arabesques, grotesques, flowers, animals, birds and fishes, adorn virtually every folio. Commentary by Jeremy Schonfield with contributions by Diana Rowland-Smith, & Raphael Loewe. Limited edition of 500 copies, bound in full leather. $8995  [0-948223-219]

[London, British Library, Add. ms. 11695]
Beato de Liébana. Códice del Monasterio de Santo Domingo de Silos.
Barcelona: M. Moleiro Editor, 2004. 25 x 38 cm, 560 pp + commentary.

A splendidly illuminated copy of the Beatus of Liébana, copied in the scriptorium at the monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos in southern Burgos. From entries in the manuscript we know that the monks Domingo and Muño commenced work on this expensive and lavish project, and at the sixth hour on Thursday, April 18, 1091, they finished the task of copying the text, a project which may have taken them several months. The work was then passed on to the illuminators; due to some problems which are not clear to us the entire work was only concluded on June 30, 1109. The superb condition of the manuscript suggests that it was hardly ever used. Commentary by Miguel C. Vivancos. [84-88526-77-6]

[London, British Library, Add. Ms. 18850]
Bedford Hours.
Luzern: Faksimile-Verlag, 2007. 21 x 27 cm, 330 pp + commentary.

The Bedford Hours represent an invaluable example of aristocratic bibliophily in the history of illumination. One of the richest Book of Hours ever to have left an illuminator's workshop—every page is illustrated—it became famous all over the world. The book contains an overwhelming abundance of biblical scenes, decorated with 1250 elaborate medallions, 38 large-format miniatures, finely executed in gold leaf, brush gold and frequently also with silver. Miniatures from the Bedford Hours, such as the Ark of Noah or the Creation, are among the most frequently represented examples of the creativity which marked the first decades of the 15th century. The same period also gave birth to such wonderful works as the Master of Game of Gaston Pheobus and the Belles Heures of the Duke of Berry. It was the pinnacle of Gothic illumination, with new ideas of Flemish realism already visible on the horizon. Although the artist of the Bedford Hours was among the leading and most prolific painters of his day, his identity has sadly remained a mystery. His nickname goes back to the Duke of England who has long been thought to have commissioned the work: John of Lancaster (1389-1435), Duke of Bedford and younger brother of the English king Henry V. The illuminator of the this Book of Hours thus entered art history under the title of Bedford Master, a name synonymous with high quality painting and luxurious opulence in books. Commentary by Eberhard König. Binding in red velvet with gilded clasps. €11900   (more info... )

[London, British Library, Add. ms. 18851]
Breviario de Isabel la Católica.
Barcelona: M. Moleiro Editor, [in prep]. 16 x 23 cm, 1046 pp + commentary.

The Isabella Breviary is one of the most highly prized treasures of the British Library. The Breviary was conceived of as the most luxurious Flemish breviary; six masters worked on this codex and the originality and impact of its miniatures make it a unique work. A breviary has more texts than a book of hours, thus offering the illuminators a wider range of themes, more artistic license and therefore a great image variety. The main painter of the Breviary is the Master of the Dresden Prayerbook, an artist remarkable for the narrative expressiveness of his images and his ability to breath life and movement into his scenes. His skillful portrayal of gestures and facial expressions, underlining the main action of each episode is astounding. Gerard Horenbout, also known as the Master of James IV of Scotland, is the second greatest illuminator of the Breviary. He was the first Flemish illuminator to incorporate elements characteristic of the Renaissance into his miniatures. His brilliant use of color and masterful representation of textures and fabrics are dazzling. Some of the most important miniatures in the codex are the magnificient work of Gerard David. The exhuberant marginal decorations in the Breviary deserve special mention. The MS was given to Isabella the Catholic to commemorate the double marriage of her children, John and Joanna, to the children of the Emperor Maximilian of Austria and Mary of Burgundy, Margaret and Philip. The Breviary is of great historical importance not only for its artistic context but because it reflects the great political unrest of late 15th-c. Europe, a time when royal marriages meant international political alliances and territorial expansion. Limited numbered edition of 987 copies, bound in embossed leather.

[London, British Library, Add. ms. 24098]
Libro de horas – Libro del Golf.
Barcelona: M. Moleiro Editor, 2004. 8.4 x 11.5 cm, 60 pp + commentary.

Simon Bening created this magnificent book of hours around 1530. For whom it was intended is unknown. The book has attracted lots of attention with its scenes of sports & free-time activities common during that time, including one with golf, which gives the book its name. Besides the marginal scenes the illuminations of the calendar are characteristic of 16th-century life, both in work and free time. Commentary by Carlos Miranda. [84-88526-92-X] (more info... )

[London, British Library, Add. ms. 35313]
Libro de horas de Juana I de Castilla, Juana la Loca.
Barcelona: M. Moleiro Editor, 2004. 16.3 x 23.7 cm, 484 pp + commentary.

This exceptional prayerbook, consisting of 482 illustrated pages with 75 full-page illuminations, was executed in Flanders around 1500 by the great miniaturist Gerard Horenbout. Limited edition of 987 copies bound in brown leather with gold tooling, in leather case. [84-96400-14-X]

[London, British Library, Yates Thompson ms. 29]
Libro d’ore di Bonaparte Ghislieri.
Modena: Franco Cosimo Panini, 2007. 14.5 x 20.7 cm. 274 pp + commentary.

This highly sophisticated Book of Hours was produced in 1503 at the behest of Bonaparte Ghislieri, a member of an important Bolognese family. In commissioning this codex Ghislieri wanted to bring together several of the most famous artists of the period, each one of whom was called upon to create a full-page miniature. The intention was to offer the best miniature anthology that the Bologna school of illumination could produce in those years. Thus we see a succession of works by the likes of Amico Aspertini with his Adoration of the Shepherds, Perugino with his Saint Sebastian, Costa with King David and his Lyre, Francia with his Saint Jerome and, probably, Matteo da Milano, to whom the Annunciation is attributed. The admirable decoration forming the borders of the miniatures should also be mentioned, abounding in classical references, with several clear borrowings from the decoration of the Domus Aurea. Bologna was also the home of the scribe, Pierantonio Sallando, who taught grammar at the University of Bologna and was to become a famous professor of writing. The codex passed from the Ghislieris to the Albani family of Urbino, where it is documented in the 18th century; the following century it reached England, where it was purchased by Henry Yates Thompson in 1897. Since 1941 it has been kept in the British Library. Limited numbered edition of 980 copies, bound in kidskin featuring gold embossing applied dry and corner guards and clasps in solid silver. €8800  

[London, British Library, Yates Thompson ms. 36]
La divina commedia di Alfonso d’Aragona.
Modena: Franco Cosimo Panini, 2006. 25.7 x 37 cm. 2 vols, 396, 340 pp.

Richly decorated with over 100 splendid miniatures and featuring illuminated initial letters at the beginning of each canticle, this Codex was produced in Tuscany around the middle of the 15th century at the request of an illustrious client, the king of Naples, Alfonso of Aragon, known as the Magnanimous. The king, an enlightened patron and sensitive humanist, in an effort to affirm the predominance of his kingdom over the other Italian states, transformed Naples into a lively artistic and cultural center. A sophisticated bibliophile, he looked upon manuscripts as precious treasures and, having accumulated an extensive library in Spain, wanted to augment it in Naples with Italian, Latin and Greek texts, obtaining precious miniature codices through the good offices of the scholarly Guiniforte Barzizza. The sumptuous collection of miniatures in the Divine Comedy is the work of two different artists, although the assignment to decorate the three canticles was probably given to a single artist, identified as the Siennese, Lorenzo di Pietro, known as il Vecchietta. It was this first illuminator who decorated all the capital letters and the scenes of Hell and Purgatory, executed between 1442 and 1450. The decoration of Paradise, has been attributed to another Siennese, Giovanni di Paolo, an artist immersed in a dream-like, spiritual dimension which he translated in his miniatures into unreal, fairy-tale atmospheres sharing three common characteristics: the structure of the universe, represented by the azure brightness of the sky and the celestial spheres, usually blazing with gold; the all-consuming loveliness of the countryside, inspired by the beauty of the Tuscan landscape to the south of Sienna and frequently clearly recognizable; and the unifying presence in the majority of the miniatures of the coupled figures of Dante and Beatrice. Limited edition of 750 copies, bound in silk velvet over wood boards and featuring decorations, gilded silver and enamel work. €8750  

[London, Lambeth Palace Library, ms 1]
The Arundel Choirbook. A Facsimile & Introduction by David Skinner.
Huttersfield: Roxburghe Club, 2003. 31 x 41 cm, 230 pp.

3 English choirbooks have survived intact from the early Tudor period: the “Eton”, the “Caius” and “Lambeth” . While Eton is known to have originated from the great college of that name, the provenance of Caius and Lambeth has, until now, been a complete mystery. The man responsible for their production has long been held to be Edward Higgons, a prominent Tudor lawyer and multiple plurist who was a canon of St. Stephen's, Westminster, where Nicholas Ludford, a principal composer in both manuscripts, was employed from the early 1520s. On the last page of the Caius Choirbook is written the inscription “Ex dono et opere Edwardi Higgons cuius eccelsie canonicis”, which may be translated as “By the gift and work of Edward Higgons, canon of this church”. The “ecclesia” is now believed to be St. Stephen's, although the origins of the Lambeth Choirbooks have been much less well understood. It has, however, been generally accepted that it too was produced for one of the ecclesiastical institutions with which Higgons was associated. This is a story of one music manuscript of thousands that must have circulated in late medieval England; it is also a narrative of only one musical institution from the hundreds that were in existence before the onslaught of Henry VIII's Reformation. The bulk of this Roxburghe Club volume constitutes a full-color facsimile of London, Lambeth Palace Library, MS 1 (“The Arundel Choirbook”), providing a single but significant resource that richly illustrates England's early musical heritage. The manuscript contains 7 masses, 4 magnificat settings and 8 motets. Robert Fayrfax is represented by 8 works, followed by Ludford (2), Sturton (1) and Lambe (1). The Arundel Choirbook is one of just three major choirbooks that survive from c.1490 to 1530. The original size of the choirbook, in “elephant” folio, has been reduced 50%–to 12.5 x 16.5 inches–for this facsimile edition. All text printed in letterset; total edition of 300 copies. Quarter leather bound, wood boards. (few copies remaining). $795  [0-95450-900-5] (more info... )

[Madrid, Archivo Histórico Nacional, 1097B]
Beato de Tábara.
Colección Scriptorium. Madrid: Testimonio, 2003. 25.5 x 36 cm, 332 pp + commentary.

Art historians maintain that this codex is made up of a large basic manuscript to which were added, in the Middle Ages, two folios from a Beatus from the Monastery of San Salvador in Tábara. The details surrounding the origins of the first 332-page manuscript, executed in visigothic script, are unknown except for its 10th-c. date and “León School” style. Two hands can be distinguished, one who finishes his work with “Monniu presbiter scriptsit”. As with other visigothic codices, there are gloses in the margins in Arabic, indicating that some of the members of the monastic community were Spanish of Arabic background. Sometime in its history the manuscript has been mutilated: only 8 of the 100 or so miniatures usual in a Beatus are still present. The two folios added from another Beatus (cut down in size to match the original Beatus) include the famous miniature of the Tábara tower showing Senior and Emerterius and an assistant in the scriptorium of the monastery of San Salvador, thus giving this codex its name “Tábara Beatus”. In the colophon at the end of the work below a monumental decorated omega, it is written that the first copyist was overtaken by death and that his pupil Emeterius had to finish the work, which he did on 27 July 970, after three months of hard work. Bound in full leather with generous tooling, and two metal clasps. €4250  [84-95767-45-7]

[Madrid, Biblioteca Nacional, res. 36]
Notitia dignitatum. El libro de las claves del poder politico.
Barcelona: Liber Millennium, [in prep]. 20.8 x 28.8 cm, 336 pp + commentary.

Limited edition of 995 copies, bound in leather. €3300  

[Madrid, Biblioteca Nacional, vitr. 14-1]
Beato Emilianense de la Biblioteca Nacional.
Burgos: Siloé, Arte y Bibliofilia, 2007 25 x 35 cm. c.610 + commentary.

MS vitr. 14-1. preserved in the Biblioteca Nacional in Madrid, is considered the oldest of the surviving Beatus sources, probably copied between 930-950 in the southeast of the kingdom of Léon. Although it was housed in the Monasterio of San Millán de la Cogolla in the 12th and 13th centuries, its miniatures are attributed to another scriptorium. It is the only Beato, together with the San-Sever MS, that contains the text of the oldest commentary version of the Beato, dated 776. According to José Camón Aznar it is strongly autochthonous and is characterized by an elementality so intense that borders on exoticism. Once having around 60 miniatures, only 27 survive (there are indications of the cutting out of at least 30 miniatures). Commentary by Rosa Regàs and Peter Klein. Limited edition of 898 copies bound in leather with brass clasps, with case.

[Madrid, Biblioteca Nacional, vitr. 25-3]
Libro de horas de los retablos.
Barcelona: Liber Millennium, 2005. 16 x 23 cm, 400 pp + commentary.

Limited edition of 550 copies. €4550  

[Madrid, Bibl. Nacional, vitr. 25-5; Berlin, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin; Philadelphia Museum of Art]
Libro de horas de los reyes Católicos.
Valencia: Patrimonio Ediciones, [in prep]. 11 x 15 cm, 650 pp + commentary.

This codex, also known as Voustre Demeure, appears to have been presented to Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain by the Emperor Maximilian, on the occasion of the double marriage of their children, Margaret and Philip, to the Spanish rulers’ offspring, John and Joan. The facsimile edition represents the restoration of the book’s original composition, bringing together folios currently found in the collections of the Biblioteca Nacional in Madrid, the Staatliche Museen, Berlin and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The MS consists of 650 pages, every one illustrated and illuminated in gold and silver by master Flemish painters. Altogether there are 87 large-format miniatures and 583 pages embellished with quarter-page decorations in which a variety of animals, plants and insects are represented. Stylistically the work points to the master credited with the Book of Hours of Marie of Burgundy, the master of the Dresden prayer book, Lieven van Lathem, Nicolas Spierinc and Simon Marmion, praised for their mastery of trompe-l’oeil effects in the ornamental borders of the books they illuminated, a lavish hand with decorative elements and the large number of extremely sophisticated iconographic resources they brought to their tasks. All of these aspects make this book of hours one of the most significant works of art produced during the waning of the Middle Ages. (Special prepaid prepublication offer; price on publication: €8,000) €4400   (more info... )

[Modena, Bibl. Estense Univ., est. 28 (=alfa M.5.9)]
Herbolaire o Grant Herbier.
Castel San Pietro: Trident Editore, 2008. 20 x 28 cm. 340 pp + commentary

L’Herbolaire is the most refined of the two herbariums preserved at the Biblioteca Estense Universitaire of Modena (the other one is the Tractatus de Herbis). The French text in gothic bastard is the anonymous translation of one of the most important medieval books attributed to Plateario the medical doctor of the Salernitana School. The miniatures are the product of a very refined hand and are very close to reality, especially the herbs. “I semplice”, the plants and medical remedies treated by the author, number c.500 and are arranged in alphabetical order.There are also other scenes which depict different animals and peasants working in the fields. Limited edition of 299 copies bound in full leather. €4600  

[Modena, Bibl. Estense Univ., it. 1221 (=alfa F.9.9)]
Composizioni profane. Poesie musicali per le feste di corte.
Ars Illuminandi. Modena: Il Bulino, [in prep]. Oblong, 17 x 12 cm, 180 pp + commentary.

Deluxe full-color facsimile of one of the most beautiful Italian songbooks of the Renaissance. A virtual anthology of strambotti, with 82 examples. The poetry, with Greek, Roman, Jewish, Christian, medieval and Petrarchan references, clearly points to the high humanistic milieu in which it was compiled. Deluxe leather binding with handsome tooling, following the design of the original extant binding. €790  

[Modena, Bibl. Estense Univ., lat. 22 (=alfa K.7.2)]
Officium beatae mariae virginis - Il libro d’ore di Barbara d’Austria.
Castel San Pietro: Trident Editore, 2007. 12 x 17 cm. 332 pp + commentary.

This beautiful richly illuminated Book of Hours from the 16th-c. with 17 large format minatures and 328 highly decorated pages was probably executed by a student of the French master Jean Bourdichon. It has the sigla "A.E.I.O.U"—Austria est imperare orbi universo—the motto of the Austrian House introduced by Federico III and the initials "P.K." which might stand for Philippus Karolus, the monogram of Filippo the Beautiful of Austria united to that of his son Carlo V. There are 2 full-page miniatures with gold frame introducing the Office of the Virgin and Penitentiary Psalms. The borders show a naturalic vegetation with red and imaginary animals, putti, musical angels and anthropomorphic figures. This fauna, derived from the repertoire of the late-gothic French illuminatiors, has precise symbolic meanings. The fantastic and montrous creatures personify the diabolic; butterflies and birds are frequently found, the first one as a symbol of the soul which raises from a terrestial plane to a celestial one. The crane, like all animals of long neck and beak, is related to malignant creatures. All the other miniatures are in an arch-formed window with gold borders. The MS was part of the endowment of Barbara d'Austria, Archduchess of Austria, daugther of Emperor Ferdinand I (brother of Carlo V) and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. In 1565 she married Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara. After an earthquake in 1570/1571 Barbara d'Austria dedicated her efforts and personal resources to help the orphans of the "Conservatorio delle orfane di Sto. Barbara". She died of tuberculosis in 1572 at the age of 33. Limited edition of 300 copies bound in velet after the original. €3200  

[Modena, Bibl. Estense Univ., lat. 74 (=alfa Q.9.31)]
Officium beatae mariae virginis del Cardinale Ippolito I d’Este.
Castel San Pietro: Trident Editore, 2008. 14 x 24 cm. 278 pp + commentary.

It is believed that this refined 15th-c. MS with 12 large-format miniatures and 146 decorated initials and written in archaic Latin belonged to the Cardinal Ippolito I d'Este. The Cardinal was born in 1479, the son of the Duke of Modena & Ferrara and Princess Eleonora of Aragon. He had a meteoric ecclesiastical career becoming a Cardinal at the age of 14 and Archbishop of Milan at 18. The wedding of his brother Alfonso I with Lucrecia Borgia in 1501 gave him the title of Arciprete di S. Pietro which allowed him to reside in Rome. Pope Pio III named him Bishop of Ferrara. The Cardinal, Mecenate of Lodovico Ariosto, died in Ferrara in 1520. The miniatures of the MS, following the style of the Lombard School, are presented inside a gold frame bordered with red, blue or red and blue. They show Saints with long hair and episodes of the life of the Virgin or Jesus. Its beautiful initials have been executed in gold with decortive flowers. Limited edition of 300 copies bound in full leather after the original. €2500  

[Modena, Bibl. Estense Univ., lat. 842 (=alfa R.7.3)]
Libro d’ore del Maestro di Modena. Officium Beatae Mariae Virginis.
Ars Illuminandi. Modena: Il Bulino, 2006. 15 x 21 cm, 544 pp + commentary.

The Lombard MS, dated 1390 and illuminated by the Master of Modena Hours (who takes his name from this exemplary codex), comes from the rich collection of the Marquis Obizzi del Catajo and has belonged to the Estense library since 1817. It features 28 full-page illuminations, of which 15 have vegetation patterned borders and 21 have illustrated initial letters. The text, with indexed headings, is in rounded Gothic script. As is typical of prayerbooks, the first part begins with the calendar, followed by the texts of the prayers, accompanied by splendid illuminations representing important moments in the lives of the Blessed Virgin and Jesus and pictures of the saints. The codex is known as one of the masterpieces of Lombardian illuminated manuscripts and among those of the golden period of the International Gothic. The Master of the Hours Book of Modena has been traced to the workshop of Giovannino de Grassi, author of other wonderful codices for the Visconti court. Despite obvious references of this codex to the main school, the Master of the Hours Book of Modena reveals his own originality in his brush technique and background decorations, in his surprising elegance of line, and in the lovely gentleness of the feminine figures. Of considerable importance is the beautiful and sumptuous 16th c. pink silk binding with embroidered decorative borders along the spine and on the sides, in gold, silver and coloured silk thread. A framed bust of the Virgin Mary is embroidered on the front cover in the center, while the coat-of-arms of the presumed owner is embroidered in the center on the back. Limited edition of 499 copies, bound in silk with colored embroidery, after the original. €7200  [88-86251-65-3]

[New York, Jewish Theological Seminary]
Prato Haggadah.
Valencia: Patrimonio Ediciones, 2006. 14 x 21 cm, 160 pp + commentary.

The Prato Haggadah (Spain, c.1300) is an unfinished illuminated MS of 85 leaves, written on fine calf parchment. Fols. 1–53 are written in a square Sephardic script and fols. 54–68 are written in a square Italo-Ashkenazic script, using a different ink. The illumination of 30 pages is virtually complete. 58 are unfinished, with preparatory drawings and possibly some gesso and color, 50 have text only and the remaining pages are blank. Many of the pages have illuminated initial word panels, comparable to illuminated initials in Christian or secular manuscripts. Throughout, illustrations accompany the text, such as the depiction of the four sons, and illustrations of matza and maror (bitter herbs). Preparatory drawings depicting the story of Noah and the flood appear at the end of the manuscript. Margins are replete with fanciful drawings of hybrid creatures, imaginary birds, drolleries and climbing vines. The codex is especially fascinating because it demonstrates the making of a manuscript in the Middle Ages, enabling us to view its illumination after the text was written: the preparatory drawings, the laying down of gesso in order to cushion the gold leaf, the application of gold and silver leaf, and ultimately the application of pigments. The skill of the artist is of a very high order, both in the preparatory drawings and in the completed pages, whose brilliant colors look as fresh today as when they were applied. (adapted from description by JTS). Limited edition of 100 copies. €6000  

[New York, Metropolitan Museum, Cloisters, Acc. no. 54.1.1]
Belles heures du Duc de Berry.
Luzern: Faksimile-Verlag, 2003. 17 x 25 cm, 448 pp + commentary.

The library of the Duke of Berry was legendary; it had close to 300 MSS which were not only of great variety but, in their majority, outstanding in their quality and rich decoration. For his most personal Book of Hours, the "Belles Heures", the Duke engaged the most famous book painters of the time: Pol, Herman and Jehanequin Limbourg. The Limbourg brothers were born in the last quarter of the 14th c., the sons of a woodcarver. They grew up in the crafts quarter of the town of Nijmegen, capital of the Duchy of Gelderland on the Meuse. In Paris they were first apprenticed to a goldsmith and around 1400, Pol and Jehanequin entered the services of the Duke of Burgundy whose brother, the Duke of Berry, had inspired him with a passion for beautiful books. After their employer died in 1404, the three brothers went to work for the Duke of Berry as painters to his court and were entrusted with the decoration of the "Belles Heures". In this Codex, all the 172 miniatures of the Limbourg brothers have a vivacity and colourfulness that secured them a place in the history of illumination. The luxurious decoration is extraordinary in its exhuberance, the combination of gold leaf and shell gold and the perfection achieved in the ornamented initials that extend over one or several lines and are painted in red, blue and glowing gold. The painters executed five additional picture cycles after its completion suggesting the extremely high degree of autonomy that the Duke allowed them. Certain innovations are testimony of the patron's influence on this work; scenes of study and learning that had never been painted in this manner before show the Duke's great interest in science and scholarship. The fruitful combination of the Duke's generous patronage and the unique talent of the brothers brought a working atmosphere of unmatched creativity; without it a masterpiece such as the "Belles Heures" would not have been possible. Commentary by Eberhard Konig (in Ger) and Millard Meiss (in Eng). Limited edition 980 copies, bound in morocco leather with gold tooling in 17th-c. style. €9980  

[New York, Pierpont Morgan Library, M.44]
La vida de Jesuchristo en imágines (vie de Jésus Christ): manuscrito francés de finales de siglo XII, M.44 de la Pierpont Morgan Library de Nueva York. Estudio introductorio, Juan Vicente Garcia Marsilla.
Valencia: Scriptorium, 2005. 35 x 25 cm, 2 vols, 35, 128 pp.

Deluxe full-color facsimile of manuscript M.44, a unique picturebook of the life of Christ. Contains 30 full-page miniatures in the style of those on the oldest stained glass windows in the Cathedral of Chartres, illuminated in Northern France, perhaps Corbie, c.1175. Limited edition 250 copies printed on natural lambskin parchment with binding with reproduction ivory inset. Commentary by Juan A. Vicente Garcia Marsilla (few copies remaining). $5882  

[New York, Pierpont Morgan Library, M. 1044]
Gaston Phoebus—The Master of Game.
Luzern: Faksimile-Verlag, 2007. 28.6 x 38.5 cm, 256 pp + commentary.

Gaston III, Count of Foix and Béarn (called "Phoebus"—after the Sun god— because of his golden blond hair) composed his Livre de chasse between 1387-1389. Organized in 4 parts and written in a clear narrative voice, the work not only depicts the multi-faceted forms of hunting, but presents an impressive knowledge of the natural sciences—long before the age of modern empirical science—with detailed observations on the various animal species. Livre de chasse has become the most famous hunting book of the middle ages (altogether 46 copies of the work have survived). The Pierpont Morgan Library's presentation manuscript—created in the atelier of the "Master of Bedford" and commissioned by Philip the Bold (1342-1404)—is one of the most beautiful of them all, with its clear French "textura" hand (written in a Gasconian dialect), 87 precious miniatures and 126 large-format initials. Commentary by Yves Christe, William Voelke and François Avril. Limited edition of 980 copies bound in quarter vellum. €6980   (more info... )

[New York, Pierpont Morgan Library, M.429]
Apocalipsis de San Juan Beato Liébana, Monasterio de las Huelgas.
Valencia: Scriptorium, 2004. 36.4 x 52 cm, 368 pp + commentary.

The "later" Morgan Beatus MS 429 acquired by John Pierpont Morgan in 1910 (also known as the "Las Huelgas Beatus") belonged once to the Monastery of Saint Clement of Toledo founded by Alfonso VI, and was handed over to the Cistercian Order by Alfonso VIII. Its origins appear to be Toledo or Burgos and, according to one of its annotations, its creation date is 1220. This magnificent codex with over 90 miniatures is modeled after the Tábara Beatus; its illustrations range in size from a quarter to a full page, and although many belong to the usual compendium of imaginery used for the Book of Revelation, there are also a series of scenes seldom found. Commentary with contributions by Peter Klein, David Raizman, J. González Echegaray, Leslie Freeman, & Hernández Del Campo. Limited edition of 666 numbered copies, bound in full leather with generous tooling and clamshell case covered in blue velvet. [84-89472-26-2]

[New York, Pierpont Morgan Library, M.711]
Hainricus Sacramentary (Pierpont Morgan Library, New York, MS. M711).
Codices Selecti, CX. Graz: Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt, 2005. 17.2 x 24.2 cm, 296 pp + commentary.

The "Hainricus Sacramentary"—consisting of calendar, gradual-antiphonary, sequentiary & sacramentary—was written and illuminated at the Abbey of Weingarten, a Benedictine house in Württemberg, Germany, ca. 1225-1250. Under Welf IV and his wife Judith, Weingarten became an imperial abbey. The manuscript was commissioned by Hainricus sacristan, a monk at Weingarten Abbey, who is represented on the cover and in 4 miniatures (it has been suggested that Hainricus may have been also the illuminator, but no documentary evidence has been found). Decoration: 5 full-page miniatures, 2 illuminated text pages, 24 calendar medallions, 35 historiated initials. Music: the gradual-antiphonary and sequentiary parts of the manuscript are notated with non-diastematic neumes; the rite accords with the Hirsau tradition. Limited edition of 280 copies bound in full leather with clamshell box. €9750  [3-201-01746-9] (more info... )

[Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, allem. 113]
Splendor solis. Tratado de alquimia.
Valencia: Patrimonio Ediciones, [in prep]. 21 x 30 cm. 100 pp + commentary.

The Splendor Solis, an important treatise on alchemy written at the dawn of modern science, consists of text accompanied by a series of 22 elaborate images set in ornamental borders and niches similar in style to the decorative borders used in book of hours of the period. The book's symbolic process follows the alchemical death and rebirth of the King, followed by a series of 7 flasks, each associated with one of the planets. Within the flasks a process is shown involving the transformation of bird and animal symbols into the Queen and King, represented by white and red pigment. Elements of the work can be found in the Pretiossisimum Donum Dei sequence (15th c.) and the writings of Saloman Trismosin, possibly the teacher of Paracelsus. MS allem. 113 of the Bibliothèque Nationale—the basis of this deluxe facsimile edition—is a beautiful parchment manuscript of 50 folios, sumptuously illuminated in gold and silver; the MS is one of just seven early surviving mss sources of this fascinating text. List of illuminations: 1) The Arms of the art; 2) Philosopher with flask; 3) The Knight on the double fountain; 4) Solar King and Lunar Queen meet; 5) Miners excavating hill; 6) Philosophers beside tree; 7) Drowning King; 8) Ressurrection out of the swamp; 9) Hermaphrodite with egg; 10) Severing the head of the King; 11) Boiling the body in the vessel; 12) Saturn – Dragon and child; 13) Jupiter – Three birds; 14) Mars – Triple-headed bird; 15) Sun – Triple-headed dragon; 16) Venus – Peacock's Tail; 17) Mercury – The White Queen; 18) Moon – The Red King; 19) The dark sun; 20) Children at play; 21) Women washing clothes; 22) Sun rising over the city. Limited edition of 999 copies. Special prepaid pre-publication offer. (price after publication will be ca. 50% higher) €3000  

[Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, arabe 2964]
Kitab Al-Diryaq (Book of Antidotes). Iraq. 1199. The Earliest Islamic Manuscript in Medicine.
London: Touch@rt, [in prep]. 26 x 34.5 cm.

The most important surviving manuscript of the Kitab al-Diryaq, painted in the “Mosul School” style developed in northern Iraq in the late 12th to early 13th century under the patronage of the Zangid dynasty (1127-1222). Another copy of the work is preserved in the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna, however, the Paris copy—the basis of this facsimile edition—is in better condition.

[Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, arabe 5847]
Maqamat al-Hariri.
London: Touch@rt, 2003. 27 x 38 cm, 2 vols, 344, 60 pp,

Al-Maqamat is the title of a book written by Abu Muhammad al Qasim ibn Ali al-Hariri (1054-1122) containing fifty relatively short stories (maqamat = "settings" or "sessions"), each one identified by the name of a city in the Muslim world of the time. The stories tell of actual adventures and especially the verbal pronouncements in verse or in prose of a roguish and peripatetic hero, Abu Zayd from Saruj, a town in northern Syria, as told by al-Harith, a sober and slightly gullible merchant travelling from place to place. Limited edition of 2000 copies. €2500   (more info... )

[Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, fr. 166]
Biblia moralizada de los Limbourg.
Valencia: Patrimonio Ediciones, [in prep]. 29 x 41.5 cm.

The Dukes of Berry and Burgundy were the patrons of the Limbourg Brothers, the most important book illuminators of the 15th century and precursors of Jan van Eyck. Their influence on book illumination was felt in all of Northern Europe. From surviving documents it is known that in February 1402 Paul and Johan Limbourg were contracted by Philip to work for four years exclusively on illuminating a bible. This may or may not have been the Bible Moralisée, Ms. fr. 166 in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, which art art historians consider an early work by the Limbourg brothers. With 800 illustrations in a single codex, 513 miniatures by the Limbourg Brothers illuminated with gold and silver (plus 287 illustrations by Jean Fouquet and other outstanding artists), the “Bible moralisée” is the most abundantly illustrated manuscript of the Limbourg Brothers. Special prepaid prepublication offer. (price after publication will be ca. 60% higher) €5500  

[Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, fr. 13096]
Apocalipsis – 1313
Barcelona: M. Moleiro Editor, [in prep]. 15.5 x 22 cm, 334 pp + commentary.

Signed and dated in 1313 by its illuminator, Colin Chadelve, this apocalypse is a unique creation following the specific requirements of its patron. The codex, with 162 miniatures and 86 full-page illustrations, represents the longest iconographic cycle of the Book of Revelation. The miniatures, homogeneous in style throughout the manuscript, are brought alive by a remarkably dramatic force produced by the gestures of the figures, the liveliness of the scenes, the great color range and the lavish use of gold. Interestingly, this apocalypse exhibits few traces of Parisian style typical of the period; instead it is apparently an unusual adaptation of a very popular English Gothic type in its treatment of text and iconography. Experts believe the Apocalypse of 1313 constitutes an important shift in the Gothic style to a more personal and private prayer book. Commentary by Marie-Thérèse Gousset & Marianne Besseyre.

[Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, lat. 8846]
Salterio glosado (Salterio Anglo-Catalán).
Barcelona: M. Moleiro Editor, 2004. 32.5 x 48 cm, 356 pp + commentary

The Anglo-Catalonian Psalter is a magnificent codex that contains two masterpieces executed in two different places and at different times. The oldest part, Canterbury, ca. 1200 (184 pp) follows the iconographic organization of the Utrecht Psalter. It begins with 8 extraordinary miniatures; 52 miniatures follow at the start of each psalm. The unfinished ms went to Catalonia around 1340 and was painted by Ferrer Basa and artists of his atelier. The work was commissioned by “Pedro el Ceremonioso” and begins with page 185 where we find a great iconographic freedom showed both in the typological interpretations of the psalms as well as in the New Testament. Limited edition of 987 copies. Bound in brown leather with leather case. [84-96400-07-7]

[Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, lat. 9333]
Tacuinum Sanitatis.
Barcelona: M. Moleiro Editor, 2008. 22.5 x 35.5 cm. 216 pp + commentary.

The Tacuinum Sanitatis is a treatise on health and general well being, written in Arabic by Ububchasym de Baldach. He was a physician, also known as Ibn Butlân, born in Bagdad and who died in 1068. In his treatise he sets forth the six elements necessary to maintain daily health: food & drink, air & environment, activity & rest, sleep & wakefulness, secretions & excretions of humours and changes of states of mind (happiness, anger, etc.). According to Ibn Butlân, illnesses are the result of changes in the balance of these elements; therefore he recommended a life in harmony with nature in order to maintain or recover one’s health. Tacuinum Sanitatis was widely disseminated in the 14th & 15th centuries; in Lombardy during the late 14th century a highly developed series of illustrations was incorporated in the codex. On every folio there is an illuminated miniature and legend (in Latin with a subsequent German translation) of the elements stating their nature, characteristics, benefits or harms and remedies. Ibn Butlân also teaches us to enjoy each season of the year, the consequences of different climates and the benefits of music, dancing and pleasant conversation. The codex is not only an interesting source of medieval information but a remarkable iconographic source for the study of everyday life in the Middle Ages. Limited numbered edition of 987 copies, bound in full leather.

[Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, lat. 9474]
Grandes horas de Ana de Bretaña.
Barcelona: M. Moleiro Editor, [in prep]. 20 x 30.5 cm, 476 pp + commentary

The Great Hours of Anne of Brittany is a masterpiece of French painting, fitting for someone who was twice queen of France: with Charles VIII and then Louis XII. The codex features veritable paintings rather than miniatures usually found in this type of book. Jean Bourdichon painted almost 50 full-page scenes with gold frames upon a ground of parchment dyed black. These miniatures are comparable to paintings on canvas or board not only because of their dimensions but also because of their foregrounds, use of perspective, pictorial technique, realism of the portraits, etc. The Nativity (f. 51v) is one of the most outstanding night scenes ever painted in a book of hours. The supernatural light cast by the star of Bethlehem magically illuminates an image conveying a clear, theological message. Master Bourdichon’s talent stands out again in the Flight to Egypt (f. 76v), whose light, atmosphere and dark background of rocky mountains recall Leonardo da Vinci’s Virgin of the Rocks. The play of light and shade in a starry night is also masterful in the scene of Judas’ kiss (f. 227v); the lamps and torches guide the spectator’s gaze so that no detail of the tragic scene is overlooked. Bourdichon enhances the intriguing luminosity of his colors by delicate brushstrokes of gold that highlight garments, weapons, hair, and angels’ wings. Also noteworthy is the remarkably innovative nature of the calendar featuring not just marginal scenes but full-page paintings interrupted by the framed text beneath the sign of the zodiac of each month. The margins of this codex constitute a comprehensive botanical treatise of more than 330 plants (dotted with brightly colored insects and small animals), with their scientific names in Latin at the top of the image and their common names in French at the bottom. Thus, in short, we have here two codices in one: a spiritual book for meditation and prayer, and a natural encyclopedia. Limited edition of 987 copies. Bound in dark brown leather with generous tooling and metal clasps. (Please inquire for special prepub-prepaid price)

[Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, néerlandais 3]
Apocalipsis Flamenco.
Barcelona: M. Moleiro Editor, [2005]. 25 x 34 cm, 50 pp + commentary.

An unusual apocalypse of Flemish origin with 23 full-page illuminations. The artwork, while utilizing customary themes of this genre, incorporates motifs not found in other sources. A product of the period just preceeding Van Eyck and the tendency towards realism, the illuminations of the Flemish Apocalypse produce a spectacular visionary effect with enigmatic atmosphere, perfectly complementing the texts they illustrate. Bound in deep red leather, with leather case. [84-96400-02-6]

[Paris, Bibliothèque National, nouv. acq. lat. 1366]
Beato Liébana Código de Navarra.
Barcelona: Liber Millennium, 2007. 23.5 x 34.5 cm, 314 pp + commentary

Paris BN nouv. acq. lat. 1366, a beautiful manuscript of 314 pages with 63 splendic illuminations, was created in Navarre in the 11th century. The facsimile edition represents the pinnacle of an ambitious project to reproduce all of the Beato manuscripts—the commentary on the Apocalypse written by Beatus of Liébana in the 8th century—this codex being the final witness that completes the corpus of the hispanic illustrated manuscripts of this genre. A 17th-c. catalog suggests that the MS once belonged to the library of the Catedral of Pamplona; its Navarre origins is also indicated by a document affixed inside the binding. Limited edition of 995 copies, bound in leather with clasps and case. €5330  

[Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, nouv. acq. lat. 2334]
Biblia de Tours. Ashburnham Pentateuch.
Valencia: Patrimonio Ediciones, 2003. 32.5 x 37.5 cm, 300 pp + commentary.

This precious MS, one of the most beautiful codices of the medieval western world, is the oldest illustrated Bible. The ms dates from the seventh century and bears a close relation to other Spanish biblical texts of the time. It is believed that the text could have been copied in Spain and the illuminations–63 large and magnificent miniatures–were executed by an artist trained in Byzantium. The illustrations of the Bible served as a model for the Beato de Liébana iconography. Limited edition of 999 copies. €7200  

[Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, Rothschild 2973]
Le chansonnier de Jean de Montchenu.
Valencia: Vicent García Editores, 2007-2008. Heart shaped, 22 x 16 cm, 144 pp + commentary.

This exceptional MS, closed, is shaped like a heart; it opens into the shape of a butterfly composed of the hearts of the two lovers who send love messages to one another in each one of the songs. When the word “heart” appears in the texts, it is represented by a pictogram. Two full-page illustrations appear in the codex. In the first, Cupid throws arrows at a young girl while at his side Fortune spins his wheel. In the other, two lovers approach one another lovingly. Throughout the MS the pentagrams, music and love poems are surrounded by borders made up of animals, birds, dogs, cats and all kinds of flowers and plants highlighted in abundant and delicate gold. The book gets its name from Jean de Montchenu, a nobleman, apostolic prothonotary, Bishop of Agen (1477) and later of Vivier (1478-1497) who commissioned the work. The music repertoire consists of French and Italian songs written by Dufay, Ockeghem, Busnois and their contemporaries. Limited edition of 1380 copies bound in red velet after the original; 2-part slipcase covered in green leather. €2366   (more info... )

[Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, Suppl. turc 242]
Libro de la Felicidad (Matali’ al-saadet).
Barcelona: M. Moleiro Editor, 2007. 21 x 31 cm, 286 pp + commentary

The 16th and early 17th centuries were the most fertile period of Turkish-Ottoman painting, with the reign of Murad III (1574-1595) being particular prolific in beautiful works of art, such as this Matali’ al-saadet—Book of Felicity—by Muhammad ibn Amir Hassan al-Su’udi. This work, which the sultan himself ordered to be translated from the original Arabic, features descriptions of the 12 signs of the zodiac accompanied by splendid miniatures, a series of paintings showing how human circumstances are influenced by the planets, astrological and astronomical tables, and a enigmatic treatise on fortune telling. All the paintings seem to be by the same workshop under the guidance of the famous master Ustad ‘Osman, undoubtedly the artist of the opening series of paintings dedicated to the signs of the zodiac. ‘Osman, active between c.1559 and 1596, directed the artists in the Seraglio workshop from 1570 onwards and created a style charaterized by accurate portraits and a magnificent treatment of illustration. Sultan Murad III held illuminated manuscripts in greater esteem than any other sultan; this treatise of felicity was especially commissioned by him for his daugther Fatima. Turkish binding in red leather with gold tooling.

[Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, suppl. turc. 190]
Mi’ragnama. Apocalipsis de Mahoma.
Valencia: Patrimonio Ediciones, [in prep]. 24.5 x 35.5 cm. 70 pp + commentary.

Conserved in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris under the siglum Suppl. Turc. 190 "Mi'ragnama – The apocalypse of Mohamed" is a masterpiece of Mimurid style, produced in 1436 in Herat in the north of modern day Afghanistan. It describes the adventures of the prophet Mohamed’s journey through the celestial sphere, in the company of the Archangel Gabriel, to arrive before the throne of God and his subsequent return trip to Earth through the seven circles of Hell. In medieval Europe the work became known through the Latin translation that Alfonso the Wise commissioned from the school of translators in Toledo, which, in the judgment of some experts, may have inspired Dante’s Divine Comedy. Islamic culture produced books on par with those of the west and created numerous art works of impressive beauty. In Persia, the perfect fusion of the Arab school and the Buddhist art of India and China produced the Timurid style. Timur’s son—Tamerlane, the Shah Ruj—transferred the capital from Samarkand, where his father lived, to Herat and promoted a style of illumination characterized by a realism that surpassed the typical stylization of Islam and resulted in a fascinating pictorial drama. The even rhythm of the miniatures, masterfully balanced, brought about a pivotal moment in early 15th-century Persian art. The magic that inspires the Chinese-influenced design of these compositions of harmonious movement imparts to the art of the Persian miniature an excellence that, along with its exquisite palette, converts its illustrations into treasures of world art. Limited edition of 999 numbered examples bound in leather and fire-engraved gold.  €6000  

[Philadelphia, Free Library, Widener 1]
Jacques Bruyant: Le livre du chastel de labour (The Way of Poverty or Riches).
Luzern: Faksimile-Verlag, 2005. 14.4 x 20.7 cm, 146 pp + commentary.

While at first glance it appears to be a book of hours, this manuscript is a guide to happiness for the newly-wed nobleman. In secular poetry and with pictures, the art of living and working congenially is portrayed. The text was written c.1342 by Jacques Bruyant, a clergyman from Paris. A great number of ms copies bear testimony to the popularity of his work but only one single copy was illustrated with miniatures. The priceless work is part of a small group of illuminated mss made in the circle of the famous Bedford Master of Paris. For more than 25 years, starting c.1410, the Master remained one of the most significant illuminators of Europe. His art was inspired by the Limbourg brothers but he introduced new creative elements: well balanced compositions with refined colorings, marvellous perspective, dimensionality of forms and faces, plus sumptuous borders. His images help us discover the medieval world largely through details, individualistic facial expressions and realistic elements which betray his exact sense of observation. Limited edition of 980 copies, bound in red velvet with gilt edges and four gilt silver fittings. Commentary by Eberhard König & William Lang. €3480  

[Prague, National Library, XXIII.C.124; olim Ms.412]
The Velislav Bible - Velislai bibli picta. [standard edition].
Prague: Archa 90 Publishing House, 2007. 2°, 376 pp + commentary.

This picture bible—the most extensive in medieval central Europe—originated in the first half the 14th c. on the incentive of Velislav, who is portrayed on fol. 188r kneeling before the statue of St. Catherine. It is highly probable that he is the Prague canon of the same name, who also served as a notary to John of Luxembourg, and later became a notary as well as a diplomat to Charles IV. The book’s origins can be traced to a secular workshop. The Velislav Bible is neither a biblia pauperum, a type which emerged later and was stabilized at thirty or forty repeating images, nor is it a fully illustrated bible encompassing the full biblical text. It includes the following Books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Daniel, Judges, Judith and also a series on the Antichrist, life of Christ, Apocalypse, Apostles and on the Czech patron saints St. Wenceslaus and St. Ludmila. In the latter half of the book some other images can be found. Due to the fact that most images are included with legends, sometimes with the names of characters, the MS can be considered as a “comic” book. Romanticizing elements appear in the picture MS as well as hints of later development leading to a style of great beauty. Among the 747 colored pictures are historical scenes from Czech history. Limited edition of 868 copies, bound in vellum with bronze bosses. €2890  

[St. Petersburg, Russian National Library, lat. Q.v.I. 206]
Liber precum (Russische Nationalbibiothek, St. Petersburg, Signatur: Ms. Lat. O.v.I.206).
Codices Selecti, CVIII. Graz: Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt, 2003. 19 x 27 cm, 198 pp + commentary.

This codex, created between 1480 and 1490 in Cologne, is a true masterpiece of the late medieval book painting. It contains the most complete and richest iconographic picture cycle of the life and Passion of Jesus with altogether 41 full-page miniatures. The executing artist was a leading protagonist of the Cologne School under Master Stephan Lochner. The most important achievement of the Cologne style—a mixture of gracefulness of the Delicate style and the new realistic view—is revealed particularly in the full-page miniatures. The Master of the St. Petersburg’s Liber Precum created a fantastic work which enriched the scope of variations and added a glittering facet to the late medieval book painting in German. Commentary by James Marrow with an additional contribution by Margarita Lugutowa. Limited edition of 580 copies, bound in leather in the style of the present (16th c.) binding; with clamshell case. €2380  [3-201-01807-4] (more info... )

[Salzburg, Stiftsbibl. St. Peter, a I 0]
Psalterium sancti Ruperti [standard edition].
Codices Selecti, CXII. Graz: Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt, 2007. 3.1 x 3.7 cm, 117 pp + commentary.

This rare miniature psalter—measuring just 31 by 37 mm and with a text size of just 1.5 mm—is believed to have been compiled in the period between 850 and 875 in northeast part of France. The note of possession “Manuale psalterii sancti Rudberti episcopi” found on the first page of the codex is a later (15th c.) inscription and the first indication of its location in the monastery of St. Peter in Salzburg. The small booklet, written in Carolingian minuscule, begins with an introduction of the holy Hironymus from the edition of his Gallicanum and the Prologue “Origo prophetiae Regis David” which explains the development of the psalms. On fol. 2r a portrait of King David with his harp is featured; much of the text is written in gold against a crimson backround. A unusual feature of the book is its upon back style with exposed spine—faithfully reproduced in this facsimile edition—a design which obviously allowed the user greater ease in paging through the miniature book. Limited edition of 980 copies, in the standard edition. €1380  [3-201-01877-7]

[Santa Monica, J. Paul Getty Museum, Ms. 37]
Das Gebetbuch Karls des Kühnen.
Luzern: Faksimile-Verlag, 2007. 9.2 x 12.4 cm, 318 pp + commentary.

Commissioned by Charles, duke of Burgundy for his personal use, this precious Burgundian treasure holds a key position in the history of Flemish illumination. Consisting of 159 folios with 47 miniatures it is the work of Lieven van Lathem and the scribe Nicolas Spierinc. A delight in fantasy is evident throughout the book, even in the imaginative borders that are populated with countless drolleries, humans, and birds, all set between colored acanthus leaves and tiny golden buds. The fine calligraphy of the text is organized around more than 360 initials, mostly on chiselled golden grounds; each page of text is additionally decorated with an ornamental border. Lieven van Lathem was active in the cultural area of Flanders, between Bruges and Ghent, Antwerp and Utrecht. Born around 1430, he first was a member of the painters’ guild in Ghent, and later, until his death in 1490, of the St. Luke’s guild in Antwerp. By the end of the 15th c. the Flemish city of Antwerp ranked as the center of landscape painting, but it was van Lathem with his atmospheric art who had paved the way for this development. One name is inextricably associated with the painting school of Bruges and Ghent: that of the Viennese Master of Mary of Burgundy—famous for his forceful expressiveness when it came to bringing life to delicate faces or the movement of muscles on parchment. Although his identity remains unknown, a number of art historians assume him to be Alexander Bening, father of Simon Bening, the last grand Flemish master. He entered the artistic scene with The Prayer Book of Charles the Bold and the world of art immediately got a vivid impression of his unique talent. Nicolas Spierinc, Burgundy’s most famous calligrapher, is not only responsible for the wonderful handwriting, he also embellished many pages with so-called cadels, elaborate letters that were decorated with lines in writing ink. Some of the magnificent cadels were even painted in addition with glowing gold, a lustre that is perfectly rendered in the facsimile edition. Commentary by Antoine de Schryver. Limited edition of 980 copies bound in purple velvet with ornamental clasps, metal corners, medallion and finely applied gilt edges (a replica of the original binding). €3980  

[Skara, Skara Stifts- och landsbibliotek]
Skaramissalet. Studier, edition, översättning och faksimil av handskriften i Skara. Christer Pahlmblad.
Skrifter utbivna av Stifts- och landsbiblioteket. Skara: Stiftelsen för utgivande av Skaramissalet, 2006. 24 x 32 cm, 450 pp.

Facsimile and text edition of a rare medieval missal from Scandinavia. Shares many characteristics with northern French and English sources. With translation of text (into Swedish) and 12 essays; summaries in English. $102  [91-859802-7-7] (more info... )

[Tel Aviv, private collection William Gross]
Megillat Esther.
London: Facsimile Editions, 2006. Scroll, 10.8 x 168 cm, 64 pp (commentary).

Purim is a holiday of feasting and joy which celebrates the deliverance of the Jews of Persia during the reign of King Xerxes (485-465 BCE). The word Purim is derived from ‘Pur’ meaning lots, literally the lots cast by the Persians to decide when to execute the Jews. This story, recounted in the biblical book of Esther, is read publicly in synagogues each Purim. The reader recites it from a parchment scroll, known as a megillah. Over the centuries, Esther scrolls have become a symbol of celebration and continuity of Jewish life and they form the core of several major collections. The Gross family in Israel owns one of the finest collections in the world and their particular illuminated copy of the megillah is the basis of this facsimile edition. Written scrolls of Esther are not rare, but this megillah, written on fine parchment, is exceptional because the entire Purim story is illustrated in meticulous detail. Virtually every aspect of the Book of Esther is depicted in the miniature, where heroes and villains are playfully painted around the clear, square text to illustrate the victory of good over evil. There are scenes of baroque buildings and genteel characters in typical 18th-c. dress; even Haman’s sons hang in droll positions from the gallows. The wealth of detail contained within the intricately-drawn buildings and costumed figures adds weight to the theory that it was written in Germany around 1700. Although the exact date and location that the MS was commissioned remains a mystery, the words ‘STATT SHUSONN’ written in Latin letters above one of the illustrations at the beginning of the scroll reinforce the German provenance of the manuscript. Only one other Esther scroll, in the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, is known to make use of Latin letters, and was written by the same scribe. Commentary by Emile Schrijver and Falk Wiesemann, with contribution by Muzi Wertheim and William Gross, edited by Jeremy Schonfield. Limited edition of 295 copies, printed on parchment and presented in a hand-tooled silver case. $3995  [0-948223-251]

[Torino, Archivio di Stato, Museo dell’Archivio di Corte, JB.II.21 bis]
Calendario del livre de laudes et dèvotions.
Castel San Pietro: Trident Editore, 2005. 21 x 30 cm. 24 pp + commentary.

First of 4 volumes that comprise the Book of Laudes and Devotions. The Calendario was used for private devotions and to celebrate, with prayers, the religious festivities. It was executed by an artist of the French School around the middle of the 15th century and belonged to the prestigious collection of the House of Savoy. In 1764 King Carlo Emanuele III acquired it from Sigismond Touttemps, Canon of the church of St. Joire in the region of Chambery. It is a splendid example of the late French gothic, richly ornamented with a profusion of gold and color with traces of influence from Flemish painting. Each month is depicted in 2 arch-shaped windows, showing the different activities of the months, including the zodiac signs. The beauty and refinement of the codex is comparable to the best works of the Limbourg Brothers for the Duke of Berry and its paternity goes back to the Parisian School of the Master of Bedford and brother of the King of England Henry V, during the time of the English occupation of Paris. Limited edition of 299 copies bound in full leather. €1950  

[Torino, Archivio di Stato, Museo dell’Archivio di Corte, JB.II.34]
Officium beatae mariae virginis.
Castel San Pietro: Trident Editore, 2005. 15 x 19.5 cm. 238 pp + commentary.

One of the most refined examples of a French school 15th-c. prayer book. This elegant personal devotional book belonged to Maria Antonietta Fernanda of Borbon infanta of Spain and wife of Prince Vittorio Amadeo III. It was acquired by king Carlo Emanuele III as a gift for the Princess of the Savoy House. The Italian destination of the MS is clear by the majority of the saints with Italian names. The beautiful miniatures of the Flemish school of Master Willem Vrelant represents the main episodes of the life of the Virgin. The cornices are richly decorated with interlacing of leaves and flowers and the letters are brilliant with gold and lively colors. Limited edition of 299 copies bound in full leather. €3650  

[Trier, Stadtbibliothek, 24]
Codex Egbert.
Luzern: Faksimile-Verlag, 2005. 21 x 27 cm, 2 vols, 330, 248 pp.

One of the most important works of book illumination from the Ottonian period. This periope or evangelistarium was created around 983 for Egbert, the chancellor of Kaiser Otto II and features the earliest picture cycle of the life of Christ. Archbishop Egbert lived during one of the most creative periods in the history of art, at a time when exceptional centers of artistic creativity flourished in the scriptoriums of the monasteries. The most famous of them was the Benedictine Abbey at Reichenau. These artistic monks of Bodensee developed a style which gave Ottonian book illumination its distinctive quality. The monks succeeded in creating a breathtaking synthesis of northern and southern art forms, a vocabulary where the rich legacy of Carolingian tradition is combined with elements of insular painting or Byzantine art. The form reaches it fruition in Codex Egbert, a pericope containing 60 illuminated pages and over 240 decorated initials. The rich series of miniatures for the life and miracles of Christ as well as the portraits of the evangelists and Archbishop Egbert, executed in gold, silver and precious colors, still grab the viewer today through their calmness and tranquility. Each miniature is filled with great spiritual strength. The unity of the picture cycle shows conclusively that there was one master responsible for the artistic conception of the book. Art historians have identified him as the "Gregory Master", a monk associated with a collection of letters of Pope Gregory the Great. Commentary volume by Gunther Franz, Franz J. Ronig, Robert Fuchs, Doris Oltrogge and Sif Dagmar Dornheim. Limited edition of 980 copies. Bound with green silk and silver plated metal work, in Ottonian style. €6500   (more info... )

[Tübingen, Universitätsbibliothek, Md 2]
Iatromathematisches Kalenderbuch / Die Kunst der Astronomie und Geomantie. Farbmikrofiche-Edition der Handschrift Tübingen, Universitätsbibliothek, Md 2. Beschreibung der Handschrift von Gerd Brinkhus. Introduction to the Astrological-Divinatory Manuscript by David Juste. Verzeichnis der Federzeichungen, Rubriken und Initien der Abschnitte und Anmerkungen zu den Texten und Bildern von Helga Lengenfelder.
Codices Illuminati Medii Aevi, 63. Munich: Edition Helga Lengenfelder, 2005. 17 x 25 cm, 124 pp, 11 fiches (x36).

The “Tübingen Book”, a beautifully executed and richly illustrated MS copied by a single scribe probably in the region of Württemburg around the mid 15th-c., is a “Hausbuch” written in German. The general purpose of such a book is to provide advice and rules for managing daily like. The advice and rules are mainly drawn from astrology and geomancy, but the work also deals with other divinatory devices, such as weather prognostics and onomancy, and it includes sections on computus and astronomy. The book (or its model) is not an original composition; its author had at his disposal a number of sources which he re-arranged and compiled in his own way in a self-contained way. Thus the reader does not need to possess particular knowledge in any scientific area, nor to consult any astrologer or specialist—all astrological and divinatory devices are clearly explained and the “mathematical” apparatus is fully provided, so that the user only needs to be able to read, to perform elementary calculations, and to locate the correct data in tables and figures. The interest of the book lies above all in the quality and richness of its illustrations which represent a remarkable artistic achievement, long acknowledged by art historians. Linen. €290  [3-89219-063-1]

[Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica, Barb. lat. 613]
Biblia de Nicolas III d’Este.
Colección Scriptorium. Madrid: Testimonio, in prep. 26.6 x 36 cm, 636 pp + commentary.

This celebrated 15th-c. MS of Lombardian provenance once belonging to Niccolò III of Ferrara, is one of the great masterpieces of the international gothic. Its text—the French version of the Bible by Guiard des Moulins (1401-1434)—is copied in lower case gothic script and arranged in two columns. Each page is executed in a highly decorative manner and the bible contains some remarkable miniatures and gilded initials, especially the ones that mark the beginning of the Old and New Testaments and each chapter. The principal artist was probably Bebello de Pavia and his school, while Jacopino de Arezzo is attributed with the non-figurative initials and with finishing the work. Subscription price. €7813  

[Vatican, Bibliotheca Apostolica, Chig. F. VII. 158]
Dioscórides Latino.
Colección Scriptorium. Madrid: Testimonio, 2003. 440 pp + commentary.

Codex Chigi F VII.158 is richly illustrated with images of grasses, trees, plants, animals, amphibians and insects. This encyclopedic herbarium with notes about food, balsams, poisons and cosmetic products derived from various animals was an example and model both in the Orient and the Occident and enjoyed a great reputation from the medieval to the renaissance periods. The MS is the work of Dioscórides-Pedanio, the Greek doctor and naturalist born in the 1st century A.D. He was active as the military doctor for Emperor Claudio and Neron. Dioscórides understood the gathering and systemization of all that the empirical practice and popular medicine knew regarding the plants and their use. This treatise is a marvel in medieval pharmacopeia and tells in simple terms the normal use of medicinal plants, known as "medicamentum simplex" as opposed to "medicamentum compositum", one that is prepared unifying several substances. Drawings have the stigma of Cardinal Fabio Chigi and Pope Alexander VII stamped in gold. €1825  [84-95767-42-2] (more info... )

[Vatican, Bibl. Apost., pal. lat. 1071]
El arte de la cetrería de Federico II (siglo XIII).
Colección Scriptorium, 25. Madrid: Testimonio, 2005. 25 x 36 cm, 220 pp + commentary.

The art of falconry, one of the oldest sports, consists in the use of birds of prey trained to hunt birds of a larger size like cranes, bustards, geese, and other species they wouldn't normally hunt. These hunting techniques arrived in Europe around the 5th century and were introduced by the Germanic invaders. The mosaics of the Halconero Villa in Argos, Greece, showed for the first time what this art is. After its introduction in Europe falconry rapidly spread there, becoming the favorite sport of kings and princes. During the Renaissance when firearms were perfected, falconry declined and almost disappeared. Falconry gave rise to a very abundant literature; the first work in Europe is a 10th c.tract by the "Anonymous de Vercelli". Frederick II von Hohenstaufen, a passionate hunter and especially interested in falconry and the natural sciences spent more than 30 years gathering information and experiences to write the master work of the Western art of falconry: De Arte Venandi cum avibus (The Art of Falconry). This erudite emperor considered all previous literature in this area poor and insufficient. Frederick's work is transmitted in Codex ms. pal. lat. 1071, preserved in the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana. This 2-column 111 folio parchment manuscript is the most famous and best known of all the works of Frederick II because of its incredibly beautiful illustrations. The marginalia has 170 human figures, more than 900 species of birds, 12 horses and 36 other animals plus all the paraphenalia needed for falconry. Commentary by José Manuel Fradejas Rueda. Boound in full leather. €2500  [84-95767-51-1] (more info... )

[Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica, pal. lat. 1988]
Leyenda de la Santa Faz (Legende de Saint-Voult de Lucques).
Bilbao: CM Editores, [in prep].

The Master of the Holy Face takes his name from this MS. €2150  

[Vatican, Bibl. Apost., Papiro Bodmer VIII; P72]
Epistolas de San Pedro — Papiro Bodmer 8.
Colección Scriptorium, 24. Madrid: Testimonio, 2003. 142 x 155 cm, 36 pp + commentary.

This unusual MS containing the epistles of St. Peter was once the final part of an ancient codex written on papyrus (catalog no. P72), hypothesized as consistings of at least 180 pages, most of which have been conserved. The original codex probably contained a composite of texts which covered the apcryphal birth of Maria, the apocryphal correspondence between St. Peter and the Corinthians, the 9th Ode of Solomon, the Epistle of Judas, Meliton of Sarde's Homily on Easter & a fragment of his hymn, Filea’s Apologia and Psalms 33-34, finishing with St. Peter’s Epistle. These texts, as listed, form Biblioteca Apost., Bodmer V, X, XI, VII, XIII, XII, XX, IX, and VIII papyri. The codex, roughly square in shape, and on the whole in good condition, was written by many hands, probably four, and it is believed that this took place between the beginning of the 3rd century and the first half of the 4th. The bringing together of the various parts that make up the text must have taken place during the 4h century. The folios that make up Papiro Bodmer VIII were presented to Pope Paul VI by the Swiss collector Martin Bodmer in June 1969 and the Vatican Library has retained the original catalogue number. At present the folios are unbound, a format preserved for this facsimile edition. Limited edition, with special presentation case. €740  [84-95767-38-4]

[Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica, Urb. lat. 1-2]
La bibbia di Federico da Montefeltro.
Modena: Franco Cosimo Panini, 2004. 44.2 x 59.6 cm. 2 vols, 1104 pp; 2 vols, 1108 pp (commentary).

This large Bible in 2 tomes, in the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana since 1657, does not conform to the usual idea of an illuminated codex. It measures 44,2 x 59,6 cm, and the number of folios, 241 in the first tome and 311 in the second, makes it particularly weighty, even hard to move, appropriate more to a permanent display lectern than for daily perusal. Furthermore the 35 large miniatures decorating the beginning of each book appear more like paintings framed in a precious vellum passepartout than miniatures, “miniature” usually suggesting something extremely small, often only explored successfully with the help of a magnifying glass. This is not the case with the Urbino Bible, in which every detail is pleasingly arranged on a page 4 times larger than a standard modern sheet with some of the miniatures 15 cm high and 26 cm wide. More than a book this Bible serves as a monumental tribute to Federico da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, who created one of the most vital centers of renaissance culture in Urbino. The Bible, one of the finest codices in Federico’s library, was written by Ugo Comminelli of Mézières and decorated in Florence in the space of 2 years (1477-1478) by Francesco di Antonio del Chierico, a miniaturist then at the height of his fame. Other celebrated artists of the day, Attavante, Francesco Rosselli and probably Davide Ghirlandaio, brother of the better known Domenico, worked with Francesco to illustrate the Bible. The work of these artists as presented in the Bible’s miniatures offers a valuable insight into the rich figurative patrimony of the Florentine Quattrocento. Limited edition of 500 numbered copies, bound in red velvet over wood, embroidered in colored and gold thread on front plate; bosses in solid silver on front and back boards and two bands and clasps in silver. €28000  

[Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica, vat. graecus 1613]
The “Menologion”, Book of Saints of Emperor Vasilios II.
Colección Scriptorium. Madrid: Testimonio, 2006.

Commissioned by the emperor Vasilios II (976-1025), the “Menologion” is considered the most prominent masterpiece of illustrated Greek MSS to survive. It represents a culmination of the artistic trends of the Constantinople court c.1000. The MS contains in its present form the first six months of the Byzantine liturgical year, from September through February. The MS is essentially a Book of Saints, a liturgical book of the Orthodox Church containing abridged information on the Saint of the feast day commemorated, read in the morning during matins. In this exquisite luxurious edition that was made for the last great emperor of the Maddedon dynasty, the short texts dedicated to the Saint or the feast of that day are accompanied by a miniature (430 in all), portraying the respective commemoration. We see in front of our eyes the unfoldig series of Saints, Martyrs, Confessors, Hierarchs and Ascetics, all illustrated standing in dignified solemnity, along with architectural monuments, landscapes, etc. One unique aspect of the MS is that one can discern next to every illustration the name of the hagiographer that painted it, allowing us access to