[In Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment. - Lot 26

[In Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment. France, circa 1440-1460. 6 ff., preceded by 3 ff. endpapers and followed by 6 ff. gothic script in brown ink, headings in blue, small initials in burnished gold on pink and blue backgrounds with white highlights, endpapers in the same style, larger initials painted in blue with white highlights, decoration of colored vine leaves on gold backgrounds, three-quarter borders on reserved backgrounds with blue and gold acanthus leaves, burnished gold vine leaves, colored flowers and foliage, large colored and liquid gold baguettes vertically separating the text from the border. Modern full vellum binding, smooth spine. Dimensions: 195 x 137 mm An impressive relic that survived the destruction of the Saintes Chapelles in Bourbon l'Archambault. This Book of Hours was undoubtedly a lavish and meticulous manuscript. The style of the borders and the layout of these leaves suggest Parisian production in the 1440s-1460s, around artists such as the Maître de Dreux Budé and the Maître de Coëtivy. Text: ff. 1-6v, excerpts from a book of hours (Hours of the Virgin). On fol. 5 we find the antiphon "Benedicta tu"; capitula "Te laudant angeli" [sic, for "laud"]; hymn, "Virgo dei genitrix". This corresponds to the lauds of the Hours of the Virgin for Paris use. Provenance: 1. Inscription dated 1831 copied on fol. 1, horizontally in the margins: "These leaves were part of a prayer book which had served the princes of the House of Bourbon, and which was carefully kept among the precious objects contained in the treasury of the Sainte Chapelle de Bourbon L'Archambault. This book remained with Mr. Duchet, treasurer of this church at the time of its destruction in 1791, and from whom I have taken these leaves which I have given to Mr. Auguste Grasset to form part of the precious collection contained in his cabinet. [Signed] Contant, curé de Raveau. October 18, 1831. Raveau is a commune and parish in the Nièvre department. Raveau is home to Saint-Gilles-et-Saint-Leu church. The commune of Bourbon l'Archambault (Allier) lies 23 km west of Moulins. Nothing remains of Bourbon l'Archambault's two holy chapels, destroyed during the French Revolution. One of the Saintes Chapelles de Bourbon l'Archambault was completed in 1508, commissioned by Duke Jean II de Bourbon (1427-1488). Duke Louis I de Bourbon had built another Sainte Chapelle around 1315 on the eastern flank of the château-fort. 2. Auguste Grasset (1799-1879), French collector, inspector of historical monuments in the Nièvre region and curator of the Varzy museum and library. Provenance based on the signed inscription "Contant, prêtre de Raveau". Since 1822, Auguste Grasset had begun to gather collectibles in his home, which he showed to visiting friends, antique dealers and other enthusiasts. He also built up an important collection of autographs, mainly thanks to his brother who had become French consul. See : Alain Raisonnier, " Les frères Grasset ", De la Nièvre au Pont-Neuf, no 9 2016, pp. 10-18. 3. Vignette ex-libris pasted on the upper spine: "Ex libris R. Cassou".