Book of Hours
(Manuscripts and Rare Books)
This finely illuminated and iconographically rich book of hours was made in England at the end of the thirteenth century. The manuscript is incomplete and misbound. Its main artist can also be found at work in a Bible (Oxford, Bodleian Library Ms. Auct. D.3.2) and a psalter (Cambridge, Trinity College Cambridge Ms. O.4.16). The manuscript contains a number of unusual texts, including the Hours of Jesus Crucified and the Office of St. Catherine. The patron of the manuscript is not clear; a woman is depicted as praying in many of the initials, but rubrics in the Office of the Dead mention "freres" (brothers). The imagery is inventive, and the Hours of Christ Crucified are graced with images depicting the funeral of Reynard the Fox in its margins. In the absence of a calendar, it is not possible to locate the origin of the manuscript precisely.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Henry Walters, Baltimore, ca. 1930, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
2019 | The Book of Beasts: The Bestiary in the Medieval World . J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. |
2016-2017 | 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. |
2014 | Seeing Music in Medieval Manuscripts. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
2010 | Checkmate! Medieval People at Play. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
2009 | The Saint John's Bible: A Modern Vision through Medieval Methods. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
1996-1997 | Music in Manuscripts. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
1995 | Manuscript Sleuthing: Discoveries of a Curator. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
1993-1994 | Medieval Writing and Calligraphy. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
1991 | Plants and Flowers in Medieval Manuscripts. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
1988-1989 | Making Music in Medieval Manuscripts. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
1987-1988 | Age of Chivalry: Art in Plantagenet England 1200-1400. Royal Academy of Arts, London. |
1988 | Time Sanctified: The Book of Hours in Medieval Art and Life. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
1984-1985 | Illuminated Manuscripts: Masterpieces in Miniature. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
1977-1978 | Splendor in Books. Grolier Club, New York; The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Conservation
Date | Description | Narrative |
---|---|---|
4/18/1979 | Examination | examined for condition |
9/20/2016 | Treatment | examined for exhibition; stabilized; tears repaired |
Geographies
United Kingdom (Place of Origin)
Measurements
Folio H: 10 1/2 x W: 7 3/8 in. (26.7 x 18.7 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, ca. 1930
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.102