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IM-8712: (116 x 87mm) Original leaf from a miniature medieval manuscript Book of Hours. 15 lines of ruled text, written in Latin with dark brown ink & red rubrics in fine rounded gothic script on animal vellum. Scribed in Italy, c. 1460-80 – Italian Books of Hours are relatively scarce – this one was probably used by a lady.

One two-line illuminated initial in deep blue with intricate red penwork internally and extending the length of the margin.  Fourteen one-line illuminated initials alternating in red and deep blue.

The two-line illuminated “L” begins Psalm 145 (King James 146) complete:  “Lauda..” (Praise the Lord, O my soul, in my life I will praise the Lord: I will sing to my God as long as I shall be. Put not your trust in princes: in the children of men, in whom there is no salvation. His spirit shall go forth, and he shall return into the earth: in that day all their thoughts shall perish. Blessed is he who hath the God of Jacob for his helper, whose hope is in the Lord his God: who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all things that are in them...).

Books of Hours are personal prayer books of a devout, status-conscious society. They are both works of art & cultural documents of their time. They are made of the finest materials, by the best craftsmen, for a small audience that could both appreciate and afford them.