John Underwood Antiquarian Books - Rare and Antiquarian Books and Manuscripts

Ink, tempera and gold on vellum , size of leaf 26.7cm x 17.5cm Ink, tempera and gold on vellum , size of leaf 26.7cm x 17.5cm .Provenance: Parish church of St. Botulph at Iken in Suffolk; [Sotheby's, London, 10 December 1969, lot 36 (for sister leaves)] Verso: Inhabited two line initial D and seventeen smaller initials in gold, blue and red ,with extensive decorative line fillers. Inhabited initial with marginal extensions. ( Introduction of Psalm 69) {69:2} Deus in adiutorium meum intende: Domine ad adiuvandum me festina. {69:2} O God, reach out to help me. O Lord, hasten to assist me. Thirty lines of text in brownish ink. Recto: A further sixteen initials , line fillers and thirty lines of ink. (part of Psalm 68 ) {68:8} Quoniam propter te sustinui opprobrium: operuit confusio faciem meam. {68:8} For because of you, I have endured reproach; confusion has covered my face. (etc) Context: Follower of the Master of the Queen Mary Psalter . The Queen Mary Psalter (London, British Library), named after the 16th century English queen who seems to have once owned it. The workshop of the Queen Mary Psalter was active in East Anglia from about 1310 to 1335, though its specific location remains unknown. It presumably competed with workshops in Norwich, Cambridge, Bury St. Edmunds, and the so-called "Fenland" workshops. This leaf would have been part of a psalter produced at the scriptorium at Iken or nearby and was entirely produced by hand. It is likely that a number of monks produced it- one working on the text, and others working on the decoration and gold work. It is extremely rare to find leaves from this scriptorium , and its survival for seven hundred years in such bright condition is a testament to its creators.

condition: Very Good +

binding: Disbound