Large 15th c. French Boucicaut-style Illuminated Missal page on vellum from Cistercian Order; beautiful example of late Medieval Book Art
Beautifully decorated large foglio-sized illuminated page with text and featuring miniatures of Cistercians and laymen (v.) and scene of the Trinity (r.). Possibly from the Cistercian monastery workshop at Neubourg in Alsace, France.
Recto:
Features large upper and lower margin in foliage (with many acanthus leaves), flowers, flower pot, bird, dragon—all Boucicaut style—in green, blue, red, pink, and gold with black outline; 21 lines of text in Gothic Latin script drawn in black and red ink in two vertical columns; one miniature painting (5 lines tall) features the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (the Trinity); the father and son are seated on a grey caisson (trunk) with blue and gold background; also features four large historiated initials (B,O, A, I) in gold outlined in black and with white tracing on blue and brown ground.
Verso: features large upper and lower margins painted in foliage, flowers, and large swan in blue, red, green, pink, and gold with black outline; a central vertical line in gold outlined in black and next to a red and blue ground with white tracing divides two columns of 21 lines of text in Gothic Latin script in black and red ink; a miniature painting (6 lines tall) features five Cistercian monks in tonsure and white cowls (robes) with black scapulars (long wide bands of cloth) and 6 other laymen wearing colourful hats standing outside under and around a decorative canopy;
includes two large historiated initials (S, P) in gold outlined in black and on red and blue ground with white tracing.

Provenance: The Ken and Elizabeth Teasdale Family, St. Louis, MO
ca. 16 cm x ca. 24 cm

excellent