This large cutting comes from what was once a world-class manuscript of fabulous beauty owned originally by Ferdinand of Aragon (1452-1516) and Isabella of Castile (1451-1504) whose marriage united the major portions of Spain, elevating the land to the status of a world power. Ferdinand and Isabelle presented the manuscript to the Dominican convent of Santo Tomas in Avila. The convent was founded in 1478, therefore presumably the manuscript was produced in that year or later, but before 1492, when, with the last conquest of Granada, the last Muslim outpost in Iberia, the arms of the monarchs changed from the form seen here. The convent was greatly favored by Ferdinand and Isabelle who funded the building of its chapel. The choir book remained in the convent for 400 years until it came into the scissor-wielding hands of Manuel Rico y Sinobas who snipped out some of the miniatures and broke up the gradual and sold it leaf by leaf. Such notable owners as the Fitzwilliam Museum of Cambridge and Prince Liechtenstein acquired some of the leaves. Bordona in Spanish Illumination calls this manuscript "one of the most sumptuous and artistic series of choir books in all Spain" and suggests that the artist was Juan de Carrion, who was working in Avila in the 1470's. The border decoration includes the Coat of Arms of Ferdinand and Isabelle amidst a profusion of first-rate paintings. Comparable in every way to the sister leaves cited in the references and to the leaf in the Breslauer collection Voelkle & Wieck, Breslauer Collection, 1992, no. 30. Tempera, illuminated with gold leaf and liquid gold. 15 ½ x 4 13/16 inches.
3,000/5,000 Sold $3,450.00
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