Decorated initial I from a choirbook, Italy (probably Padua), late 14th century.

Decorated initial 'I' with acanthus leaves. Music staves visible (staves of 4 red lines)
Other side not visible. Mounted onto card.

Purchased from J. and S. Goldschmidt as part of three portfolios (now Museum nos 234-296) designated as a 'Illuminations: a collection of 338 specimens, pages and cuttings' for the total sum of £100.0.0, received on 15 October 1872; passed on for Register in April 1874 (see Register of Drawings).
Cuttings from the same manuscript in the V&A collection: 277:3, 277:4, 277:5, 277:6, 277:7.

This cutting comes from a choirbook, probably an antiphoner or a gradual.

An Antiphoner (also called antiphonary or antiphonal) contains the sung portions of the Divine Office. With the Mass, the Divine Office forms the basis of Christian Liturgy. It is a cycle of daily devotions - the prayers of the canonical hours - performed by members of religious orders and the clergy.
The other most common type of choir book was the gradual. A gradual was the principal choir book used in the mass. Arranged according to the liturgical year, it contains introits, tracts, alleluias, offertories, and communions, in addition to the response and versicle to the Epistle reading that constitutes one part of the Mass. The introits - the first sung elements of the mass - were often introduced by historiated initials.

Both antiphoners and graduals are often large in format, so that they could be used by a choir, and include decorated and historiated initials, depicting saints and key events of the liturgical year. Hymns are usually contained in a separate volume.

Definitions derived from Understanding Illuminated Manuscripts: A Guide to Technical Terms by Michelle P. Brown (London, 1995), accessible online through the British Library website.

This cutting (a piece, often an image or a painted initial, cut out of a manuscript) is from a Choir Book (a service book containing parts of the Mass or Divine Office that are sung by a choir) made in Italy in ca. late 14th century. It contains a decorated initial 'I' (an initial composed of non-figural, non-zoomorphic decorative elements).

277:3