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AN OUTSTANDING LEAF FROM A DELUXE BOOK OF HOURS BY THE DUNOIS MASTER AND THE ST. STEPHEN MASTER. Medieval manuscript leaves that can be attributed to identifiable masters are very rare. These specific illuminators worked for important patrons such as the Duke of Bedford, the Chancellor Guillaume Jouvenel des Ursins, and Simon de Varie.
A UNIQUE, IMPORTANT, AND EXTREMELY BEAUTIFUL LEAF, IN OUTSTANDING CONDITION.
The strawberries, of course, are a special treat.
(A similar leaf, from the same manuscript, sold at Christie’s in 2021 (live auction 20107, lot 16.)
Provenance:
(1) The parent manuscript was of the use of Rouen, and its only two surviving miniatures were illuminated by the Dunois Master and his follower the St Stephen Master. It was in an 18th-century binding and had an unidentified French(?) armorial bookplate. (2) Sold at Sotheby’s, 5 December 2000, lot 62, misbound and missing many leaves (including all but two of the miniatures); broken-up shortly thereafter (a gathering of text leaves was sold at Sotheby’s, 19 June 2001, lot 13, several other text leaves were sold at Christie’s, 11 July 2002, lot 5); both miniatures sold at Christie’s, 9 December 2020, lots 27 and 28.
