LIGHTING. BRIEFING. Initial V historiated. Jeremiah... Lot 14

[LIGHTING]. [BRIEFING]. Initial V historiated. Jeremiah the prophet Leaf from the Llangattock Breviary. Tempera, gouache and gold leaf on parchment. Italy, Ferrara, circa 1441-1448. Dimensions of the frame : 347 x 420 mm ; dimensions of the leaf : 198 x 274 mm ; dimensions of the historiated initial : 20 x 25 mm Very good condition. This leaf comes from the very famous manuscript called "Llangattock Breviary", a luxurious breviary of more than 500 leaves, made by the illuminator Giorgio d'Almagna and his assistants for Lionello d'Este (1407-1450), marquis of Ferrara. It was named after a former owner, John Allan Rolls (1837-1912), the first Baron Llangattock. Sold at Christie's on December 8, 1958 (lot 190), the manuscript was dismembered by the Boston dealer Goodspeed's in the very late 1950s: the leaves that appeared on the market have always been coveted. Lionello d'Este (1407-1450) was one of the three illegitimate sons of Nicholas III of Este. When he died in 1450, his brother Borso d'Este succeeded him. Lionello d'Este was an important patron of the arts, linked to artists such as Guarino da Verona, Leon Battista Alberti, Giovanni Bellini, Andrea Mantegna and Pisanello. For his breviary, Lionello d'Este commissioned Giorgio d'Alemagna and his assistants (Guglielmo Giraldi, Jacopo Magnanina, Matteo de' Pasti and Bartolomeo Benincà and the copyist Francesco de Codigoro): this is recorded and confirmed in the archival sources (for a recent discussion, see F. Toniolo in Les Enluminures du Louvre, 2011, no. 45). There are parallels to be drawn with another work attributed to Giorgio d'Alemagna, the Missal of Borso d'Este (Modena, Bibliotheca Estense Universitaria, ms. a.W.5.2 = Lat. 239) illuminated between 1449 and 1457. Many aspects of the manuscript -- size, format, and illumination -- correspond to those of the Missal of Borso d'Este, and the Breviary was certainly made either for his predecessor Lionello, and intended, like the Missal, for use in the sovereign's chapel. Giorgio d'Alemagna also contributed to the monumental Bible of Borso d'Este (Modena, Bibliotheca Estense Universitaria, ms. Lat 422 and Lat 423). Text: Passion Sunday. Matins. Hymn [Pange lingua] (readings from Jeremiah and Sermon of Saint Ambrose). - Recto : [Gloria et honor deo usque quo altis]//simo una patri filioque inclyto paraclito... - Verso: Obliviscere populum tuum et domum patris tui. Po//[pulum vocat viti et peccata...]. Provenance: 1. This leaf comes from a breviary commissioned by Lionello d'Este (1407-1450), marquis and later duke of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio Emilia. Its decoration was made by a team of artists led by Giorgio d'Alemagna (see F. Toniolo, La miniatura a Ferrara dal tempo di Cosmè Tura all'eredità di Ercole de' Roberti, 1998, pp. 19, 20, 76-77). The most complete recent study of the Breviary is that of F. Toniolo, "Il lungo viaggio del Breviario di Lionello d'Este tra le due sponde dell'Atlantico", in Medioevo: arte e storia, 2008, pp. 564-577. See also the work in progress by D. Cashion (see below). 2. John Allan Rolls, (1870-1916), second Baron Llangattock, with inscriptions in the now dismembered volume indicating the acquisition by his family after the Spanish War of Independence. Note: the manuscript was already incomplete when John Rolls brought the codex to Britain. 3. Manuscript sold by Christie's, December 8, 1958, lot 190, catalogued as "Missal (Use of Rome) Italian manuscript on vellum, 512 leaves, Italy c.1470". The description stated: "The manuscript is unusually rich in decoration and is of great beauty". It soon became clear that the manuscript was not a missal but rather a breviary. 4. Boston, Goodspeed Book Shop, responsible for the dispersal of the leaves. A virtual reunification or reconstruction is underway (brokenbooks.omeka.net). This site lists 127 leaves (date of consultation 8 March 2023). The site is enhanced by D. Cashion and his research, the most complete known, was first published in The Burke Collection of Italian Manuscript Paintings, 2021, no. 32. 5. Les Enluminures Gallery. Colorful: Color in Medieval and Renaissance Manuscript Illumination (Catalogue 12), Chicago, 2005, pp. 22-23. See D. Cashion: https://brokenbooks.omeka.net/items/show/127 Related Leaves : Several folios are held in private and public collections. Some of these leaves have historiated initials, such as the leaf kept in Paris, Musée du Louvre, Cabinet des dessins, RF 51871 or the beautiful leaf kept in Cambridge, Harvard, Houghton Library, MS Typ 301 (acquired by Philip Hofer of Goodspeed (Boston)). Other leaves are preserved for example at U.C. Berkeley; the American Academy in Rome; the American Academy in Rome; Michigan State University; University of South Carolina; Dartmouth College