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artist or maker

Master of the Berry Apocalypse (active c 1407-1420)

binding by Nicolas-Denis Derome (b.1731, d.1790)

Date

c 1405

Place of production

Paris, France

Medium

parchment, ink, paint, gold, paper and morocco leather

Type of object

Illuminated manuscripts

Accession number

3957

13 Miniatures taken from a French Bible Historiale.

To make this manuscript, someone has cut out and remounted thirteen miniatures from a French Bible. Text is visible on the reverse of each miniature (e.g. fol. 5r reverse). The illuminations have been attributed to the Master of the Berry Apocalypse, although the first miniature of Jesse may be by a different hand.

Commentary

Many manuscripts known as ‘Bible Historiale’, all with slightly different numbers of books of the Bible and versions of text were produced around 1400. In the years before this date, French translators had come up with two versions of a French Bible with glosses taken from a Latin text by the 12th-century scholar, Petrus Comestos. They were used by scribes as a basis to produce the ‘Bible Historiale’. These were mostly illuminated. The format of the Waddesdon miniatures match other examples made around 1400 in Paris. They were most probably placed at the beginning of each book.

The artist’s concern with expression rather than elegance accords with the work of the Master of the Berry Apocalypse, named after a manuscript in the Morgan Library, New York (MS 133). The first miniature showing the Tree of Jesse, uses a more conventional chequered background and a richer palette (fol. 1r). This may indicate the presence of another artist.

Cuttings from another ‘Bible Historiale’ attributed to the workshop of the Virgil Master contain a similar miniature of the Tree of Jesse where the tree issues from his mouth, rather than his side (Tanis, 2001, The Free Library of Philadelphia, Rare Book Department, Lewis E M 8.13a-d, 8.14a, 8.15c, 8.16c, 1.18b). The older and more conservative Virgil Master appears to have painted the opening miniatures in the earliest manuscripts attributed to the Master of the Berry Apocalypse (Meiss, 1968).

For a detailed list of the illustrations and text content, please see the Physical Description tab.

Phillippa Plock, 2016

Physical description

Dimensions (mm) / weight (mg)

187 x 145 x 15; 180 x 137 (leaves)

Physical details

13 miniatures on parchment, text visible on verso, mounted on parchment, bound in Parisian green morocco gilt with dentelles, c. 1770.

List of illustrations:

1. The Tree of Jesse (Gospel of St Matthew?), fol. 1r
2. St Mark (Gospel), fol. 2r
3. St Luke (Gospel), fol. 3r
4. St John (Gospel), fol. 4r
5. Apostle? preaching, fol. 5r
6. St Paul gives letter to disciple (St Paul's Epistle to Corinthians), fol. 6r
7. Apostle preaching, fol. 7r
8. Apostle and followers near city, fol. 8r
9. Apostle preaching to his congregation, fol. 9r
10. Apostle and disciples adoring Christ, fol. 10r
11. Apostle with his disciples, fol. 11r
12. St Peter preaching (Epistle), fol. 12r
13. St John on Patmos with Beast of 7 Heads, fol. 13r

Text content: excerpts from the New Testament of a French bible are visible on the reverse.

Marks

42 [on Baron James's book label]
Owner's mark
[on fly-leaf, upper left, label with ink]

MS 63
Owner's mark

Inscriptions

No 26
Inscription
[on fly-leaf, upper left, pencil]

64, 15
Inscription
[on fly-leaf, upper left, pencil, price]

13 miniatures
Inscription
[on fly-leaf, upper left, ink]

Hr
Inscription
[on fly-leaf, lower left, pencil]

60
Inscription
[on fly-leaf, lower centre, ink]

History

Provenance

Acquired by Baron James de Rothschild (b.1792, d.1868); remained in the possession of his wife Baroness Betty de Rothschild (b.1805, d.1886); by descent to her son Baron Edmond de Rothschild (b.1845, d.1934); by descent to his son James de Rothschild (b.1878, d.1957); inherited by his wife Dorothy de Rothschild (b.1895, d.1988); given to Waddesdon (National Trust) in 1971.

Collection

Waddesdon (National Trust)
Gift of Dorothy de Rothschild, 1971

Bibliography

Millard Meiss; French Painting in the Time of Jean de Berry - The Boucicaut Master; London; Phaidon Press; 1968; p. 372; under related mss.
L M J Delaissé, James Marrow, John de Wit; Illuminated Manuscripts: The James A de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor; Fribourg; Office du Livre; 1977; pp. 59-64, cat. no. MS 3, ill.; as Master of the Berry Apocalypse; full technical description
James R Tanis; Leaves of Gold: Manuscript Illuminations from Philadelphia Collections; Philadelphia; Philadelphia Museum of Art; 2001; p. 37.
Christopher de Hamel; Les Rothschild collectionneurs de manuscrits; France; Bibliothèque nationale de France; 2004; pp. 59, 111.
Christopher de Hamel; The Rothschilds and their Collections of Illuminated Manuscripts; London; The British Library; 2005; pp. 20, 23, 56.

Related files

- Entry from (Delaissé, Marrow & de Wit, 1977), http://api.waddesdon.org.uk/docs/IlluminatedManuscripts/3957.pdf

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