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Book of Hours
(Medieval Europe , Manuscripts and Rare Books)
This Book of Hours was originally completed ca. 1430-1440 but has since been reconstructed, with several prayers and suffrages having been added to it over time. The miniatures were illuminated under the influence of the Master of Guillebert de Mets. Both the original and a subsequent owner are depicted in prayer on fols. 9r and 165v, respectively. The book was rebound by Joris de Gavere of Ghent ca. 1525-1535. The manuscript was rebacked in the modern period, but the sixteenth-century boards remain. Both contain stamped panels depicting angels playing instruments, and a band of fantastic animals depicted in profile. An inscription cites Joris de Gavere as the maker and asks the angels for their prayers.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Acquired and rebound by Joris de Gavere, Ghent, ca. 1525 [1]. Acquired by Léon Gruel, Paris, ca. 1900 [2]; purchased by Henry Walters, Baltimore, early 20th century; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.
[1] Two birth notices appear on fols. 8r and 182r, written in Dutch and dated to 1529 and 1576 respectively.
[2] Bookplate on first pastedown inscribed "No 432", Gruel dealer plate on fol. 1r
Exhibitions
| 1997 | Images of Devotion: Personal Piety in Medieval Manuscripts and Ivories. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1992 | Manuscript Illumination in Flanders. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1989 | Decadent Decades: The Medieval Clothes Horse. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1988 | Time Sanctified: The Book of Hours in Medieval Art and Life. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1985-1986 | Saints and Their Symbols. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1977-1978 | Splendor in Books. Grolier Club, New York; The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1962 | The International Style: The Arts in Europe Around 1400. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 11/27/1985 | Treatment | stabilized |
| 12/29/1988 | Treatment | examined for exhibition; stabilized; other |
| 12/6/2013 | Treatment | examined for digitization; media consolidation; splits mended |
Geographies
Belgium, Ghent (Place of Origin)
Measurements
Folio H: 6 1/16 × W: 4 5/16 in. (15.4 × 10.9 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.170