Lot n° 35
Estimation :
15000 - 20000
EUR
Result without fees
Result
: 20 000EUR
Heures à l'usage d'Orléans, Loire Valley, circa 1480-1490. E - Lot 35
Heures à l'usage d'Orléans, Loire Valley, circa 1480-1490. Elegant illuminated manuscript in Latin and French, intended for a woman, illustrated with eight miniatures and seven historiated lettrines executed by a follower of Guillaume Piqueau.
Bound in mid-18th-century brown calf, five-ribbed spine decorated with gilt small irons, boards surrounded by a cordelière, title "Heures gothiques" in burgundy basane.
Dimensions (including binding): 178 × 129 × 47 mm. 241 vellum leaves, modern foliation in pencil at the beginning of the main sections. Page: 167 × 119 mm. Writing area: 90 × 53 mm; one column of 15 lines, ruled in red ink; margin sup. 30 mm; ext. 40 mm; inf. 43 mm; int. 30 mm; line spacing 5 mm.
Textured gothic script in brown ink, capitals enhanced in tan ink, rubricated titles.
(Upper headband damaged, jaws split, corners dulled, wear to boards, some rubbing and slight loss of paint). Provenance:
Two bookplates with the arms of Jean-Jacques de Marguerie (1742-1779), lined with the words "Marguerie" inscribed by hand on the lower flyleaf. A mathematician, close to Alexis Fontaine and member of the Académie de Marine, of which he was secretary on four occasions, he is known for several treatises on algebra and physics. A Royal Navy officer from 1768, he took part in the Battle of Ushant, which pitted the French fleet against the English in 1778. Appointed lieutenant the following year, he was killed at the Battle of Grenada.
A CALENDAR EVOKING THE LIBERATION OF ORLEANS
The liturgical calendar (f. 1r-12v) follows the usage of the diocese of Orléans. It offers an elaborate version of the calendars found in the manuscripts Paris, Arsenal, ms. 642 and 649, Bib. Mazarine, ms. 499, and Orléans, Médiathèque, ms. 2626.
A first clue is provided by the mention of the Délivrance d'Orléans (May 8), which celebrates the end of the siege of the city in 1429. The memory of this event is confirmed by the three feasts dedicated to Saint Euverte, bishop of Orléans in the 4th century, whose appearance is said to have ensured victory for Joan of Arc.
The memory of his death on September 7 is reminiscent of the procession organized on September 6, 1427 to divert the English from Montargis. March 5 and June 12 also bear witness to rites specific to her diocesan cult. On June 12, to commemorate the invention of the saint's relics in 1150, the chapter of Sainte-Croix cathedral went in procession to the royal abbey of Saint-Euverte, to which it returned on September 7.
The two feasts of Saint Aignan, inscribed in gold ink (June 14 and November 17), underline the importance of this bishop: conqueror of the Huns in 451 and protector of the city ever since, he is also said to have appeared to Joan of Arc during the siege of 1429.
The name of Saint Avit, abbot of Micy (June 16), is also gilded. It was in this Loiret abbey, dedicated to Saint Mesmin (December 15), that Saint Fraimbault de Lassay (January 7) was ordained a priest.
Micy was also the home of Saint Liphard (June 3), who gave his name to the chapter of Meung and to whom an oratory near Notre-Dame d'Orléans was dedicated; Saint Lyé
(November 5), whose relics are preserved at Saint-Lyé-la-Forêt; Saint Liénard (November 6), whose remains were venerated at Saint-Léonard-en-Beauce; and Saint Brice de Micy
(November 13), whom the copyist has confused with Brice de Tours.
Several other dates refer to saints of distant origin whose memory was venerated in the diocese of Orléans. These include Saints Gervais (June 19) and Protais (July 3), to whom Bishop Euverte, according to the first version of his Vita, dedicated a basilica.
The two feasts of Saint Stephen of Rome (August 2 and 3), linked to the invention of his relics, remind us that Orléans' first cathedral was dedicated to him.
Saint Vrain (Véran) of Cavaillon is also celebrated twice: on the date of his death (November 10), and on that of the transfer of his relics to the collegiate church of Jargeau (Loiret) in the early 11th century (October 19).
Saints Flou (February 3), Mamert (May 11) and Marcel (April 12 and September 4) are also among the saints whose veneration is attested to in Orléans sanctuaries as early as the 11th century.
A BOOK OF HOURS FROM THE LATE 15TH CENTURY
[f. I-II (strong paper): litanies of the Virgin and Christ, handwritten, 18th century].
Calendar for the use of Orléans (f. 1r-12v); Gospel lessons for Christmas (f. 13r-14v: Jn 1, 1-14, followed by the oraison Protector in te), Annunciation (f. 15r-16v: Lc 1, 26-38), Epiphany (f. 16v-18r: Mt 2, 1-12) and Ascension (f. 18r-18v: Mc 16,
14-20); ora
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