The Aussem Hours

Description This early sixteenth-century book of hours was made for the Aussem family in Cologne, Germany, a provenance proclaimed through family heraldry within the manuscript, as well as the arms of Cologne stamped on its original leather binding. Lavishly illuminated throughout with full-page miniatures and historiated initials, the manuscript is just as notable for the marginal decorations that surround the figurative scenes. Illusionistic jewelry, architecture, texts, flowers, and insects abound.

Conservation

Date	Description	Narrative
3/28/1985	Treatment	re-housed
12/08/2016	Treatment	examined for exhibition; tears repaired

Exhibitions

• Real People in the Middle Ages: Donor Portraits in Illuminated Manuscripts. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1987.
• The Papacy and the Arts. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1995.
• Schatzkammer: Henry Walters' German Manuscripts. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 2006.
• A Feast for the Senses: Art and Experience in Medieval Europe. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota. 2016-2017.

Provenance Aussem family, Cologne, early sixteenth century [1]; Marshall C. Lefferts Collection, New York, before 1901; purchased by George H. Richmond collection, New York, 1901. Acquired by Henry Walters, Baltimore; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931. [1] fol. 58v coat of arms, fol. 82v kneeling donor

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters