Creative Commons License
Hours of Pastor Denys
(Manuscripts and Rare Books, Medieval Europe )
This early fifteenth-century Book of Hours was created for a woman's use in Bruges or Ghent. Although her name, as well as subsequent earlier owners are unknown, its first folio bears the later ownership inscription of Pastor Denys, ca. 1700. The early addition of texts and prints, as well as the later removal of some prints and miniatures, reveal it was well used and modified for different tastes over many centuries. The surviving eleven full-page miniatures and historiated initial still retain their rich, vibrant colors, and their contrast with the remaining uncolored print shows the variety of visual elements that could be enjoyed together in a medieval book.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Pastor Denys, ca. 1700 [1]. Léon Gruel and Engelmann, Paris, late 19th or early 20th century [2]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, before 1931; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
[1] Inscription on fol. 1r
[2] Bookplate on inside upper board, no. 98
Exhibitions
| 1992 | Royalty in Medieval Miniatures. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Geographies
Belgium, Flanders
(Place of Origin)
France, Paris (Place of Binding)
Measurements
Folio H: 6 5/16 × W: 4 1/2 in. (16 × 11.5 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
W.169