Book of Hours (use of Mons); in Latin and some French, illuminated manuscript on parchment

FASCINATING MEDIEVAL BOOK OF HOURS WITH EXTENSIVE ILLUMINATIONS BY THREE DIFFERENT ARTISTS. In Latin and some French, illuminated manuscript on parchment, Southern Netherlands, Mons, c. 1460 (original portion), c. 1480-1490 (updated). Dimensions 167 x 116 mm., 199 folios, lacking one text leaf, written by two different scribes in gothic textualis bookhand in single column on 17 lines; BINDING: seventeenth century brown calf over wooden boards, spine with four raised bands, gold-tooled, gilt title ("OFFICIU / BEATEM / VIRGIN", partly worn out), gilt edges. ILLUSTRATION: 22 full-page miniatures within full rinceaux borders by the Mildmay Master (13), the Master of Philippe de Croÿ (7), and a third Mons illuminator, follower of Simon Marmion (2), and 4 small miniatures by the Mildmay Master, additional sixteen full rinceaux borders, and 5-line initials in pink or blue on burnished gold grounds. The Mildmay Master was responsible for the core of the original manuscript; the artist paints elongated figures with small heads and slender bodies, mostly situated on pale yellow tiled grounds. His outdoor landscapes are cursory. Unusual here are his delicate acanthus and floral borders sprinkled with fanciful grotesques. The artist responsible for updating the manuscript is the Philippe de Croÿ Master. He favors tiled floors in brown or gray and white, with a generally somber, almost grisaille palette, with blue and white, grey, and a burnt brownish orange. A third painter, a follower of Simon Marmion, intervened during this second campaign. The most skilled of the three illuminators, his delicate figures are well-modeled, with tiny hands and individualized faces. PROVENANCE: The manuscript was made in Southern Netherlands probably in two different stages. The core of the Hours and the calendar were written in Mons for an unknown patron, c. 1460. Then, around 1480, the manuscript was updated, also in Mons, for a couple represented in prayer in the manuscript: Jean Antoine de Mahieu, Lord of Bosqueau, and his wife, Jacqueline de Sivry, Lady of Buath; belonged to Jean-Baptiste-Florentin Gabriel de Meyran, marquis de Lagoy (1764-1829); inside front cover: "Jean Fra(n)sois de Lescluse demeurant a Frasne." CONDITION: ink stain in the margin of f. 1, water stains in lower margins of first 32 leaves, colors slightly faded on marginal decoration f. 120v, stain in the marginal decoration f. 77v, other minor signs of use, otherwise in very good condition. Binding condition: leather very rubbed, gold tooling worn, front cover almost detached, hinges of the back cover fragile. Full description and images available. (BOH 217)