Download image:
Accession number:
MS M.1211
Title:
Lovers' Pledge
Created:
France, ca. 1555
Credit:
Purchased as the gift of an anonymous member of the Visiting Committee to the Department of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in memory of Melvin R. Seiden, 2018.
Description:
1 leaf : vellum, illuminated ; 244 x 192 mm
Provenance:
London, Christie's, 11 July 2018 ("Valuable Books and Manuscripts"), lot 36.
Notes:
This French Renaissance leaf with apparently unique verses is a rare survival of an independent illumination made as a lover's gift. Its portraits are direct antecedents of the independent portrait miniature.
Matted and framed.
Four verses (beginning "Soulcy damour en ma doulce pensee ...") and three mottoes.
In style this leaf relates to the Morgan's Hours of Claude (MS M.538), which is also ca. 1555.
Decoration: 1 large double portrait framed by a gold border filled with flowers (pansies and marguerites), verses, and mottos.
Script:
Italic
Language:
French
Catalog Link:
Classification:
Department: