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IM-10449: (180 x 110mm) Original leaf from a printed and hand-illuminated Renaissance Book of Hours. 28 lines of Latin text, ruled in red. Two three-line, two two-line initials & five paragraph markers illuminated in liquid gold on blue or salmon ground with delicate gold tracery. Printed & fully illuminated by hand in gold & colors by the brothers Gilles and Germain Hardouyn.  Produced at the Hardouyn workshop in Paris, c. 1510. 

The first hand-painted miniature depicts St. Michael the Archangel defeating Satan as a dragon. The text begins: “De sancto…” (Of Saint Michael the Archangel. O Archangel Michael, commander of paradise, come to the aid of the people of God: & be thou willing to defend us from a hostile power & to lead us with thee into the company of the Lord...). The next hand-painted miniature depicts the beheaded John the Baptist.  The text begins:  "De sancto..." (Of Saint John the Baptist. Among those born of woman none arose greater than John the Baptist. He was a man sent by God. Whose name was John. Show thyself, we pray, O omnipotent God, so that thy household may go by the way of salvation, and by following the encouragements of the blessed John, forerunner of Christ, may reach him whom he with certainty foretold...).  The third hand-painted miniature depicts John the Evangelist holding a chalice containing a viper (symbol of the poisoned drink which he was challenged to swallow by a priest of Diana in Ephesus). The text begins: "De Sancto..." (Of Saint John the Evangelist.  John the Apostle and Evangelist, a virgin, was chosen by the Lord and more beloved than the others...).