TEXT FROM NONE AND VESPERS IN THE HOURS OF THE CROSS by AN ILLUMINATED VELLUM MANUSCRIPT LEAF WITH TWO LARGE HISTORIATED INITIALS DEPICTING THE CRUCIFIXION AND THE DEPOSITION, FROM A BOOK OF HOURS IN LATIN - ca. 1460

Bruges, ca. 1460. 218 x 152 mm. (8 5/8 x 6"). Single column, 21 lines in a formal gothic book hand. Rubrics in red, one- and two-line initials in burnished gold on a blue and pink ground with white tracery, EACH SIDE WITH A SIX-LINE HISTORIATED INITIAL in pink with white tracery on a burnished gold ground, ONE DEPICTING THE CRUCIFIXION, THE OTHER THE DEPOSITION, BOTH SIDES WITH A FULL FLORAL BORDER alive with blue and gold acanthus, brightly colored fruit and flowers, and many tiny gold bezants. One upper corner repaired, with slight fading to the adjacent tip of the border, short slit to tail margin, just touching the edge of the border, a couple of mild smudges, otherwise an excellent leaf, clean, smooth, and well-margined, with rich colors, intact paint, and shining gold. The Crucifixion scene is simple but moving: the Virgin Mary and Saint John stand on either side of the cross, looking mournful, as Christ's head bows in submission to his fate. The Deposition has more action, with Joseph of Arimathea struggling to carry Christ down a ladder as the nails that pierced his hands and feet scatter on the ground. Nicodemus stands by to receive the body, and in an especially affecting touch, the Virgin Mary clutches her dead son's outstretched but lifeless hand. The Crucifixion scene is simple but moving: the Virgin Mary and Saint John stand on either side of the cross, looking mournful, as Christ's head bows in submission to his fate. The Deposition has more action, with Joseph of Arimathea struggling to carry Christ down a ladder as the nails that pierced his hands and feet scatter on the ground. Nicodemus stands by to receive the body, and in an especially affecting touch, the Virgin Mary clutches her dead son's outstretched but lifeless hand.