Fragment of an antiphonary page with illuminated initial, parchment, Europe, 15th century
The fragment of the page visible within the frame is entirely occupied by a historiated initial "O". The figural scene within depicts a haloed youth dressed in secular attire giving alms to an old beggar supported by crutches. He is accompanied by a young woman and an older man, with urban architecture visible in the background.
The reverse side features a fragment of Latin liturgical text written in Gothic minuscule and musical notation using square neumes (predecessors of notes used in medieval Europe) on a four-line staff, characteristic of Gregorian chant. The presence of the formula "Euouae" (a notation of vowels from the phrase saeculorum Amen), typical of psalm endings in antiphonal arrangement, allows identification of the notation as a fragment of an antiphon. The page also features a decorative initial "O" beginning a new antiphon.
The page is framed in a 19th-century gilded frame with a gently curved upper edge.
An object of extraordinary aesthetic and collectible value. A great rarity on the market!
Saint John the Evangelist, late Gothic wooden sculpture, ca. 1500
Full-plastic sculpture depicting St. John the Evangelist , made of wood, dated around 1500. The figure is shown in counterpoint, with a slightly bowed head and entwined hands holding a book - an attribute of the Evangelist. The sculpture is preserved in its original polychrome, with a visible structure of pigment layers and natural cracking of the wood.
The work may have been part of a winged altarpiece (retabulum), most likely in the Crucifixion group.
The work may have been part of a winged altarpiece (retabulum), most likely in the Crucifixion group.
St. Augustine reliquary with Ex Ossibus relic, polychrome wood, gilded, Italy, 18th century.
An expressive figural sculpture depicting a half-figure of St. Augustine in episcopal vestments, with a heart in his hand. The sculpture is the finial of a console in which was placed a relic of the first class (Ex Ossibus), described "S. Augustini", protected by an intact church seal. The work of polychrome and gilded wood, made in the 18th century, in an Italian workshop, representing a good artistic level.