Leaf from the Almugavar Hours: Christ amoung the Doctors and a Decorative Border with Flowers and a Coat of Arms

This Book of Hours was produced in Spain ca. 1510-1520 for a member of the Catalonian Almugavar (or Almogàver) family, whose coat of arms appears throughout the manuscript in the borders of the lavish full-page miniatures. There are twenty-six full-page brightly-painted miniatures (three are missing), of which six were removed from the original book after portions of them were cut out, and then returned to the manuscript, having been pasted onto heavy card-stock pages. There are also eighteen large decorative initials, and numerous pages with elaborate borders containing imaginary creatures scampering amongst illusionistic flowers and jewelry. A significant number of saints' feast days in the calendar associated with Barcelona help reinforce the Spanish attribution of the manuscript, although the style of the decoration is clearly influenced by contemporary Flemish design.

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.

Commissioned by the Amulgavar family, Catalonia, 1510-1520 [1]. Viscount Joseph de Ayala, 18th century [2]. Purchased by Henry Walters, Baltimore; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.

[1] Amulgavar coat of arms appears throughout manuscript
[2] Inscription on fol. 1r