Book Of Hours, Use Of Rome -

Hardcover. Good. Beautiful near-miniature 15th Century Book of Hours. 10.5 by 8.5 cm. 96 leaves of parchment. Illuminated Latin manuscript on parchment. Illustrated with twelve full page painted miniatures, with an additional 20 pages with elaborate diaper decoration (full page ornamentation) of delicate floral and vine tracery design. Throughout are elaborate letter devices with raised and gilt-gesso accents. The calligraphy, mostly seventeen lines per page, is predominantly in a brownish ink, with touches of red tracery decoration on all pages (those not counted as having a diaper design). The miniature paintings include a portrait of Christ's face, his crucifixion, the Madonna and child, an angel holding a staff and letter, the visitation of a seraph, Solomon on his throne and woman at his feet with two bleeding infants, the flight out of Egypt, monks by a coffin, St. Jerome with his lion, St. Anthony with his pig and his hem aflame, St. George slaying the dragon, and St. Catherine and her wheel. Binding: red velvet, possibly contemporary, with three raised bands on spine. Condition: cover velvet heavily worn. Fabric clasps mostly missing. A few leaves -- ones with the fuller decoration and painting -- have suffered some worming, mostly by edges, with some of these gaps repaired with clear material meant to stabilize. (Holes and loss not disconcerting or especially conspicuous, in our view.) While we would consider it possible that the highly decorated pages without facing paintings might once have had such, we think it likelier that this Book of Hours has suffered no such loss, as there is no evidence of excision. Many leaves with browning by the edges.