Scriptorium fiammingo - Imago Editore - Libro d'Ore...

Book of Hours of Emperor Charles V - Latin 22 = alfa K. 7. 2 Modena, Estense University Library Copy number: 218 334 pages, of which 14 with full-page miniatures and 320 richly illuminated with natural, vegetal and animal motifs. Leather binding and cover handcrafted. Hand stitching on cords. Inlaid on antique parchment. Cut with gold leaf. The miniatures are attributed to an artist probably trained within the circle of the Frenchman Jean Bourdichon. Intended for personal devotion, the Book of Hours accompanied prayer at the different moments of the day. In the most refined copies, like this one, the spiritual dimension merged with the prestige of the patronage: images, colors and decorations transformed the book into an intimate and precious object, to be kept and handed down. The designation “Book of Hours of Emperor Charles V” recalls dynastic clues present in the manuscript. The sigla A.E.I.O.U., motto of the House of Austria introduced by Frederick III, and the initials P.K., interpreted as a possible reference to Philip the Handsome and his son Charles V, appear. The manuscript thus evokes the memory of the Habsburg dynasty and the symbolic value that even a prayer book could assume in royal families. Its journey leads to Ferrara under the Este. In 1565 Barbara of Austria, daughter of Emperor Ferdinand I and granddaughter of Charles V, married Alfonso II d’Este, bringing the manuscript to the Ferrarese court as a dowry good. The volume thus became part of the meeting between two great European dynasties, preserving within its pages a memory of devotion and family belonging. Delicate colorings, gilded ornaments and vegetal and animal motifs convey the charm of a book in which devotion and beauty coexist. An object to contemplate in its details, which allows us to approach the history of European courts through the private dimension of prayer and the splendor of the miniature. Complete copy with case and commentary Published by Imago - The Nobility of the Facsimile

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