Hours of Louis Quarré

Title

Hours of Louis Quarré

Shelfmark

MS. Douce 311

Place of origin

Flemish

Date

1488 × 1490s

Language

Middle French (ca. 1400-1600)

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

parchment

Physical extent

ii (modern flyleaves) + 150 + ii (modern flyleaves) leaves

Hands

Gothic hybrida.

A different hand using a darker ink than the main scribe added prayers in ruled spaces initially left blank: e.g. fols 44r, 99v–100r, 101v, 112v. This occurred after the execution of the border decoration, as is apparent from the rearrangement required on fol. 113r.

Decoration

Full-page miniatures, attributed to the workshop (As-Vijvers identifies at least two hands) of the Master of the Prayer Book of Maximilian, who is likely to be identified with Alexander Bening (died 1519): fol. 2v, Calendar. Planetary man fol. 9v, Sunday office of the Trinity: Trinity fol. 16v, Monday office of the dead: Raising of Lazarus fol. 21v, Tuesday office of the Holy Spirit: Pentecost fol. 25v, Wednesday office of All Saints: All Saints fol. 29v, Thursday office of the Sacrament: Last Supper [lacking between fols 33 and 34, Friday office of the Holy Cross: Crucifixion, now Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, no. RP-T-1962-54] [miniature or historiated initial lacking between fols 45 and 46, Saturday office of the Virgin: Virgin of the Seven Sorrows, untraced] fol. 46v, Saturday office of the Virgin: Virgin and Child with music-making angels [lacking between fols 49 and 50, Mass of the Virgin: Elevation of the Host, now MS. Douce 311 adds. 1] fol. 59v, Matins: Annunciation [lacking between fols 67 and 68, Lauds: Visitation, now New York, Morgan Library and Museum, MS. G.10] fol. 73v, Nativity, prefacing Prime [lacking between fols 76 and 77, Terce: Annunciation to the Shepherds, sold at London, Sotheby’s, 21 May 1928, lot 9; London, Christie’s, 25 May 1965, lot 127; Paris, Sotheby’s, 17 November 2022, lot 2] [lacking between fols 78 and 79, Sext: Adoration of the Magi, now MS. Douce 311 adds. 2] [lacking between fols 80 and 81, None: Presentation in the Temple, now London, Victoria and Albert Museum, Prints, Drawings, and Paintings Collection no. 4101] [lacking between fols 82 and 83, Vespers: Rest on the flight into Egypt, now Paris, Fondation Custodia, inventory no. 5455] fol. 87v, Compline: Dormition of the Virgin [lacking between fols 97 and 98, Obsecro te: Pietà(?), untraced] [lacking between fols 100 and 101, Seven verses of St Gregory: Mass of St Gregory, untraced] fol. 102v, Penitential psalms: Penitent David fol. 122v, Prayer to Christ: Christ as Salvator Mundi fol. 125v, Office of the dead: Funeral Mass

Historiated initials: fol. 14r: God the Father blessing (9 lines) fol. 14v: God the Son blessing (9 lines) fol. 14v: Dove of the Holy Spirit (8 lines) fol. 39r: Arrest of Christ (9 lines, grisaille) fol. 44r: Christ on the Cross (6 lines) fol. 55v: St John on Patmos (10 lines, grisaille) fol. 56v: St Luke in his Study (10 lines, grisaille) fol. 57r: St Matthew in his Study (9 lines, grisaille) fol. 58r: St Mark in his Study (9 lines, grisaille) fol. 91r: Entry into Jerusalem (9 lines, grisaille) fol. 95v: Madonna with the Christ-child (10 lines, grisaille) fol. 99v: Virgin with the Christ-child (5 lines) fol. 100r: St Anne teaching the Virgin and Child (6 lines) fol. 101v: Christ on the Cross (9 lines) fol. 112v: St Michael (5 lines) fol. 112v: Guardian angel (4 lines) fol. 113r: St John the Baptist (5 lines, grisaille) fol. 113r: St John the Evangelist (5 lines, grisaille) fol. 113v: Sts Peter and Paul (5 lines, grisaille) fol. 114r: St James Maior (5 lines, grisaille) fol. 114r: Stoning of St Stephen (4 lines, grisaille) fol. 114v: St Nicholas (5 lines, grisaille) fol. 114v: St Claudius (4 lines, grisaille) fol. 115r: St Anthony Abbot (4 lines, grisaille) fol. 115v: St Andrew (5 lines) fol. 115v: St Christopher (4 lines) fol. 116v: St Sebastian (4 lines) fol. 118r: St Mary Magdalene (6 lines) fol. 118r: St Martha (5 lines) fol. 118v: St Catherine (5 lines) fol. 119r: Martyrdom of St Barbara (9 lines) fol. 119v: St Apollonia (4 lines)

Decorated initials: fols 10r, 17r, 30r, 60r, 68r, 74r, 123r: Floral initials in colours (9 lines) fols 22r, 26r, 34r, 47r, 50r, 98r: Floral initials in colours (10 lines) fols 77r, 79r, 81r, 83r, 88r: Floral initials in colours (7 lines) fol. 103r: Floral initial in colours (6 lines) fol. 101r: Instruments of the Passion (9 lines) fol. 126r: Skull and crossbones (11 lines)

Four-sided borders: Strewn-flower borders: fols 9v, 10r, 14r, 14v, 25v, 26r, 34r, 44r, 46v, 47r, 50r, 55v, 56v, 57r, 58r, 77r, 83r, 91r, 95v, 99v, 100r, 101v, 102v, 103r, 112v, 113r, 113v, 114r, 114v, 115r, 115v, 116v, 118r, 118v, 119r, 119v, 122v, 124a verso Flower-and-acanthus borders: fols 16v, 17r, 22r, 39r, 59v, 60r, 68r, 73v, 79r, 81r, 87v, 88r, 125v, 126r fol. 2v: Retable fol. 21v: Pilgrims’ badges fol. 29v: Jewels fol. 30r: Scenes of a boating party and the gathering of manna fol. 34r: Men carrying grapes fol. 68r: Woman with two infants, sitting astride a lion fol. 74r: Pilgrims’ bottles [lacking between fols 80 and 81: Peacock feathers, now London, Victoria and Albert Museum, Prints, Drawings, and Paintings Collection, no. 4101] fol. 98r: Church portal fol. 101r: Architecture fol. 123r: Rosary beads

Rubrication.

Binding

Bound by Charles Lewis (1786–1836) in green morocco with fine gold ornament on gilt clasps, in imitation of the French Duodo style: see Giles Barber and David Rogers, Bindings from Oxford Libraries, ii, A Duodo Pastiche Binding by Charles Lewis, Bodleian Library Record, 8.3 (1969): 140–43. On one side in the centre is T.W. with Deus alit me, on the other the arms of Theodore Williams. The Williams sale catalogue of 1827 describes this as a matchless specimen of the art, by Charles Lewis; it is of green morocco, tooled entirely over after a pattern of a book belonging to Diana of Poitiers (p. 104). The book is accompanied by a box case, also covered in morocco.

Acquisition

Bodleian Library, 1834.

Provenance

Louis Quarré (died 1519), seigneur de la Haye en Hainaut: his overpainted coats of arms (fols 122v, 130r). One of the escutcheons accompanies a commemoration of St Barbara (fol. 119r), reflecting his marriage to Barbara Croesinck (died 1531).

Dominique Vivant, baron Denon (1747–1825): according to the Williams sale catalogue, This most splendid Book of Offices is known as the celebrated Missal belonging to the Baron Denon, late President of the French Institute, who possessed greater advantages than any other person of securing articles of Vertu of the choicest description, from the unlimited confidence placed in him by Bonaparte, in selecting and securing works of art for the National Museum. […] It is undoubtedly one of the most sumptuous Missals ever offered to the public, and was considered by the Baron as one of the gems in his collection. This was presumably before 1818, when a description of a handful of manuscripts still in his collection does not show any that match the Quarré Hours: Thomas F. Dibdin, A Bibliographical, Antiquarian and Picturesque Tour in France and Germany (London, 1821), ii, 454. Sold to:

Robert Heathcote (died 1823): according to the Williams catalogue, purchased from [Denon] by the late Robert Heathcote, esq. a gentleman well known for his distinguished taste. As-Vijvers (¶ 65) notes that Heathcote purchased another book of hours at Paris in 1816. Heathcote sold both books and art from 1802 onwards: A catalogue of a magnificent, truly superbe, and valuable collection of Italian, French, Flemish and Dutch pictures (London: Philips, 1805); Repertorium bibliographicum; or, Some account of the most celebrated British libraries (London: Clarke, 1819), 470–73; Seymour de Ricci, English Collectors of Books and Manuscripts (1530–1930) (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1930), 99. Heathcote sold some books through an intermediary, Mr Farmer: David Rogers, Francis Douce’s Manuscripts: Some Hitherto Unrecognised Provenances, in Studies in the Book Trade in Honour of Graham Pollard, ed. Richard W. Hunt, Ian G. Philip, and Richard J. Roberts (Oxford: Oxford Bibliographical Society, 1975), 334.

Theodore Williams (1785–1875), vicar of Hendon. Williams, born in Jamaica, was also an avid cactus collector. Sale of his library, A catalogue of the library of the Rev. Theodore Williams […] which will be sold by auction, by Messrs. Stewart, Wheatley, and Adlard (London: Adlard, 1827), lot 1030 (p. 104), 24 April 1827. The description mentions twelve Large Paintings, showing that the missing miniatures had been removed by this point. Charles Lewis went to some lengths to tidy the damage in his rebinding. The known miniatures have English provenances in the nineteenth century. Sold to:

Philip Hurd (1776–1831): sale of his library, Catalogue of the Splendid, Curious and Valuable Library, of the Late Philip Hurd, Esq. (London, 1832), lot 1256 (p. 62), 5 April 1832. Sold to:

Francis Douce (1757–1834): report of Mr Hurd’s sale, The Bibliomania, Gentleman’s Magazine, 102 (May 1832): 443. Bequeathed to:

Title

Book of Hours: '... Hore beate Marie Virginis secundum vsum Romane ecclesie'

Shelfmark

MS. Douce 311

Summary

Preceded by:

(fol. 1v) a calendar in French

list of Easter Days from 1488-1508

(fol. 9) Hours for each day of the week, etc.

(fol. 51) the 'Missa beate Marie'

(fol. 55v) Capitula from the Gospels

Followed by:

(fols. 95v, 121) prayers, some in French

(fol. 103) Penitential Psalms with litany

(fol. 112v) suffrages

(fol. 126) 'Officium Vigilie Mortuorum'

There are thirteen full-page miniatures in Netherlandish style, very finely executed, but not of the finest drawing, with many smaller pictures, and elaborate borders of flowers, insects, fruit, jewels, gems, as well as scenes: but leaves presumably bearing miniatures are lost after fols. 33, 52, 55, 67, 76, 78, 80, 82, and perhaps elsewhere. See Waagen's Treasures of Art (1854), iii. p. 74. Stt. Gertrude and Gudule in the litany may indicate the neighbourhood of Brussels. The binding (early 19th cent. ?) is of green morocco, with fine gold ornament and gilt clasps: on one side in the centre is 'T. W.' with ' Deus alit me', on the other the arms of Williams, i.e. 'the rev. Theodore Williams, vicar of Hendon 1812-76', according to a note in the official copy of the Douce Catalogue, which refers to 'MS. Gr. Bib. d. 1.' The inside cover at each end is of white parchment, delicately and beautifully ornamented with a design in gold. [Is the white C on a butterfly's wing on f. 9 a marking, or a painter's initial? And can anything rational be made out of the inscriptions on plaques figured on f. 21v and on drapery figured on ff. 30, 46v (left of chair), 59v, 73v? E.W.B.N.].

See above.

Date

written in the Netherlands in about A.D. 1488

Language

Latin

French

Physical facet

On parchment, finely illuminated and bound

Physical extent

152 Leaves