Leaf from a Psalter with Passion Sequences, Italy, ca. 1460

Leaf, written in humanist script with one 2-line vine-stem initial on a blue ground, and alternating red and burnished gold 1-line initials in the text.
Written on 1 column, on 19 lines.
Text: Psalms 53: 2-9 to 54: 15.
Text begins on the recto with last words of Psalm 53:2, 'iudica me' ; ends on the verso with first words of Psalm 54: 15, 'dulces ca[piebat]'. First verse of psalm 54 written in red (faded).

The parent manuscript was broken up in the early twentieth century, and was possibly from the library of John Boykett Jarman, sold in his Sotheby’s sale, 13 June 1864 (lot 161).

This leaf was bought in 1936 by the museum from James Tregaskis & Son (66 Great Russell St, London), together with CIRC.153-1936 for the price of 18 shillings.

Cuttings from the same manuscript in the V&A collection:
Museum nos CIRC.153-1936, CIRC.154-1936.
Cuttings from the same manuscript in other collections: Dunedin, Heritage Collections; 's Heerenberg, Huis Bergh; Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Lat. liturg. e. 46; Los Angeles, Occidental College; Sotheby's, 3 July 1984, part of lot 8; Maggs, European Bulletin 10, no.21; Burlington, University of Vermont Libraries; Sotheby's, 29 November 1990, lot 21; Sotheby's, 3 July 1984, part of lot 8; Charlottesville, Rare Book School; Maggs, Catalogue 1172, 1994, no.105; European Bulletin 20, 1995, no.52; 1 leaf of the Canticles, owned by Dr. George Salt; leaf bought by Clifford Maggs for his private collection from Charles Ede in 1967; Thomas Cooper Library, University of South Carolina, RBSC MS. 68.
For further details, see Manion et al. 1989 and Kidd 2014.

CIRC.154-1936