Leaf “4” from Prime in a Large-Format Latin Breviary

Spain, 16th or 17th century

Single columns in 14 lines
circa 395 x 515 mm
with Foliate and Floral Decorated Initials

J. S. Wagner Collection

J. S. Wagner Collection. King David as Penitent from a Book of Hours.

[Published on 1 January 2020, with updates]

We continue our series of reports revealing unknown witnesses to the creativity of written materials, manuscript and in print, across the centuries.  See the Contents List for this blog for discoveries so far and unfolding.

Now, with thanks to the collector, who brought this and other manuscript and early-printed materials to our attention, we offer images of a detached leaf from a large-format manuscript for liturgical use.

Already we showcased another leaf in that collection.  It has an illustrated opening for one or another of the Penitential Psalms — we can’t know which one, given that its few visible opening lines pertain to 2 Psalms — depicting the Old Testament King David in his penitence, with crown and lyre set to one side.  The publication of that illustration, and the gathering advice of experts whom we could ask, led to improved knowledge about the probable orgin of the leaf and its original manuscript.  A similar process commences with this next leaf, also from a religious manuscript.

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