This richly illuminated Book of Hours, commissioned at the very end of the 15th century by the great Isabelle d'Este (1474-1539) herself, was knocked down to a lucky buyer this summer by the London auction house Dreweatts for £421,600. A highly honourable score for an antique manuscript which might well not have topped its estimate of £200,000/300,000, as collectors were probably disconcerted by its list of provenances. These included resonant names like Lorenzo the Magnificent and Cardinal Richelieu, but only as unconfirmed possibilities.