ST. CLARE

Historiated intitial in gold with minature of St. Clare on a vellum leaf from an Antiphonary Sanctorale with Franciscan saints. Northern Italy (Lombardy), c.

      Large capital "I" in burnished gold, with illuminated miniature on a red and gold ground of of St. Clare holding a bunch of lilies and a book; square musical notation on red 4-line staves, headings in red. Size of leaf: 549 x 391mm. 6 lines of interlinear gothic text. 1475. A finely drawn miniature of St. Clare of Assissi, a devoted follower of St. Francis and a supreme exponent of the Franciscan ideal of poverty. In 1212, she seceretly joined St. Francis, later becoming the founder of the second order of St. Francis which became known as the Order of Poor Clares. The initial introduces the antiphon ("Nam Sancte Clare. ") for the feast of this saint (August 11). The rendering of the saint and the decorative pattern of the background pount to a Lombard illuminator in the second half of the 15th century; in particular the motifs in gold are widely used by Lombad illuminators, but a more precise attribution is difficult in absenmce of close comparisons. However, the high quality of the illumination, as well as the extended punch work on the gold, indicate that the leaf comes from a manuscript made for an important commission. In a few places, a few holes caused by oxidisation of the black ink