AN ILLUMINATED VELLUM MANUSCRIPT LEAF WITH A SMALL HISTOR...

      Paris, ca. 1470s 132 x 88 mm. (5 1/2 x 3 1/2"). Single column, 16 lines of text in a fine early bâtarde book hand. Attractively matted. Rubrics in red, RECTO WITH A FULL BORDER filled with swirling blue and gold acanthus leaves, sprays of pink, red, and blue flowers on leafy stems, and numerous burnished gold bezants, the border INHABITED WITH A LARGE GOLDEN MOTH AND A CHARMING WINGED GROTESQUE, THE SAME SIDE WITH A FOUR-LINE HISTORIATED "L" FEATURING ST. LUKE WITH HIS BULL. IN FINE, FRESH CONDITION, with only the most trivial imperfections--the gold glittering, the paint rich, and the margins extremely ample. The recto of this leaf contains key Bible readings appropriate for the celebration of the Annunciation. The texts commence with John 1:13-14, including "the Word was made flesh." The little miniature of Luke signals a new text, beginning with Luke 1:26, telling the story of the annunciation by the archangel Gabriel to the Virgin, which continues on the verso. Luke is portrayed as a venerable elder with beard and white locks, sitting at a writing table that is massive by Medieval standards. His emblem, the bull, whose body is truncated by the frame, looks on benignly. Despite the dragon wings and snake tail, a lap dog seems to have been the principal model for the furry golden grotesque below. This creature and the moth at the upper right form a triangle of animated decoration that is both skillfully executed and quite delightful. $ 2500