Leaf from an Antiphoner with historiated initial H
Manuscript Cutting
1490s (made)
1490s (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
With their large folios and rich ornament, choirbooks were highly prized by 19th-century collectors. Early in the Museum's history, probably before 1863, a large number of folios were acquired from a single German Antiphonal. One of the leaves is inscribed '149[-]'. Sets of such choirbooks were often produced over a period of years, and the date may represent a local tradition for some event with which the books were associated. The ornament is difficult to assign to a particular centre as it is found over a wide area, but the attribution to the region of Mainz may be correct. The text and music are for the Divine Office of several feasts and saints' days. This leaf is for Christmas Day and shows a Nativity scene within an initial H. Feasts for St Benedict perhaps indicate that the choirbook was made for a monastery.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Leaf from an Antiphoner with historiated initial H (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Water-based pigments, gilding and ink on parchment |
| Brief description | Leaf from Antiphoner. 4-line historiated initial H; letter-shape of green acanthus on blue ground, Nativity with Virgin and Joseph in front of a ruined stable, shepherd with sheep and dogs in the background, angel at the top, burnished gold halos and sky and Joseph holds a metal lamp. Germany ca 1490 A duplicate number MS.563 was assigned to this object in error and was subsequently cancelled. |
| Physical description | Specimen of a manuscript |
| Dimensions |
|
| Object history | Cuttings from the same manuscript in the V&A collection: Museum nos 1107:1, 1107:2, 1107:3, 1107:4, 1107:5, 1107:6, 1107:7, 1107:8, 1107:9, 1107:10, 1107:11, 1107:12, 1107:13, 1107:14, 1107:15, 1107:16, 1107:17; 1107:18, 1107:19, 1107:20, 1107:21, 1107:22, 1107:23, 1107:24, 1107:25, 1107:27, 1107:28, 1107:29, 1107:30, 1107:31, 1107:32, 1107:33, 1107:34, 2897, 3019, 3046, 3048, 3049, 3050, 3055, 3055A, 3056, 3071, 4051, 4052, 4053, 4054, 4132, 7658, 7659. |
| Historical context | Data taken from notes compiled by Rowan Watson. The full text of the entry is as follows: 'Cat. 000. ANTIPHONER: Germany (Mainz?), (1940) (1107.1 - ????, 4054) 1107.1 (MS 563) ANTIPHONER - Matins, Christmas Day (Lib. Us. 375) Leaf, With 4-line historiated initial H (letter-shape of green acanthus on blue ground, Nativity with Virgin and Joseph in front of a ruined stable, shepherd with sheep and dogs in the background , angel at the top, burnished gold halos and sky; Joseph holding the lamp), and floral stems around flowers in the margins. Inc: Hodie nobis ce[loru, rex] , Responsory to the 1st lesson Martins, Christmas Day Germany (Mainz?). c. 1490 msd; written space 365 x 250 mm 7-lines af music (staves of 5 red lines; 30 mm) and text; Hufnagel notation Paginated 43 (16c?) Pub: 1908 cat 52: 1923 cat, 43' |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | With their large folios and rich ornament, choirbooks were highly prized by 19th-century collectors. Early in the Museum's history, probably before 1863, a large number of folios were acquired from a single German Antiphonal. One of the leaves is inscribed '149[-]'. Sets of such choirbooks were often produced over a period of years, and the date may represent a local tradition for some event with which the books were associated. The ornament is difficult to assign to a particular centre as it is found over a wide area, but the attribution to the region of Mainz may be correct. The text and music are for the Divine Office of several feasts and saints' days. This leaf is for Christmas Day and shows a Nativity scene within an initial H. Feasts for St Benedict perhaps indicate that the choirbook was made for a monastery. |
| Bibliographic reference | Catalogue of Miniatures, Leaves, and Cuttings from Illuminated Manuscripts. Victoria and Albert Museum. Department of Engraving, Illustration and Design, by S.C. Cockerell and C. Harcourt Smith (London: HMSO, 1923, 2nd edition).
pp. 43-45 (as German (Mainz), dated 149_). |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 1107:1 |
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| Record created | December 11, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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