Illuminated Manuscript Leaves, Seven Examples.
Including: folio-format bifolium (two joined leaves) on very fine parchment, France, two columns, thirty lines per page, text in black ink with fifteen gilt two-line initials with red and blue grounds highlighted in white tracery; text from the end of the Book of Matthew, Second Epistle of John, and Luke from the New Testament, France, 15th century; folio-format parchment single leaf from Paul's Epistle to the Corinthians, text in two columns, brown ink, twenty-six lines per page, with six large initials in red and blue, marginal penwork embellishments, a painted initial with gilt accents; small folio-format parchment leaf likely from a prayerbook, text in two columns in red ink, with gold and blue paragraph marks, columns separated with green, blue, and gilt vertical dividers decorated with ornate and detailed floriate and vegetable-inspired ornamentation, featuring a fantastic bird, beautifully done; miniature painting of the Madonna in prayer before a lectern with an open book, with a dove in the background and an angel to the right, trimmed from a larger page; small-format parchment leaf from a Book of Hours featuring a large initial with a crowned skull, the text surrounded with a trompe l'oeil architectural border, text in gilt letters with red and blue decoration; [and] one small-format parchment text leaf featuring a wide gilt border decorated with vines and leaves; sizes vary. (7)
