BOOK OF HOURS (USE OF CAMBRAI); illuminated manuscript on parchment, in Latin and French by BOOK OF HOURS (USE OF CAMBRAI)

PAINTED IN SOFT SHADES OF SEMI-GRISAILLE FROM THE WORKSHOP OF THE "PRINCE OF ILLUMINATION". Illuminated manuscript on parchment, in Latin and French, France, Valenciennes, c. 1475-1480. Dimensions 158 x 110 mm. 84 ff., lacking an undetermined number of leaves rendering collation impossible, written in dark brown ink in BÂTARDE SCRIPT, ONE LARGE MINIATURE with FULL-PAGE BORDER and 14 SMALL MINIATURES by the workshop of SIMON MARMION. BINDING: Nineteenth-century French red morocco, gilt-blocked to a cathedral style, gilt spine, gilt edges, marbled endleaves, slight wear to joints and corners. ILLUSTRATION: This interesting and beautiful made-to-order Book of Hours, destined for a patron living in the western, French-speaking diocese of Cambrai, offers an excellent witness to the functioning of the atelier of the painter-illuminator Simon Marmion, both in its cycle of illustrations and in its marginal decoration. This manuscript is remarkable for its delicate painting executed in soft, pastel tones, known as "semi-grisaille," a technique Marmion perfected. The vignettes of text are framed by a gold filet and ornamented with plump, thick acanthus, whose numerous knobby stems with bare roots are of azure and bronze. PROVENANCE: The style shows that the manuscript was painted in the later 1470s in the workshop of Simon Marmion who was active in Valenciennes from 1458 until his death in 1489. It was then in a private collection in the United States. CONDITION: minor rubbing to a few miniatures and borders, around ten leaves remargined in gutter, some discreet modifications to text to conceal lacunae. Full description and photographs available. (BOH 14)