Sunday, July 21, 2013

Prayer book, Office of the Dead, Walters Manuscript W.182, fol. 67v

This pocket-size prayer book was written in Dutch on fine parchment ca. 1470. The calendar is for the use of Utrecht, which helps localize its original ownership. It is notable for its thirteen full-page illuminations and seven small miniatures for the suffrages, by artists close to the Utrecht school. This manuscript has been grouped with many related works, including Brussels, Bibliothèque Royale 10761, Oxford, Bodleian Library Ms. Douce 30, Utrecht, Aartsbisshoppelijk Museum Ms. 20, the so-called Harberton-Wodhull Hours, private collection, The Hague, Koninklijke Bibliotheek Ms. 131 G8, and Ms. 76 F31.