Book of hours, Ghent or possibly Bruges, c.1505 (tempera on vellum)

use of Rome, in Latin 228 x 160mm. 252 leaves in 30 gatherings, the full-page miniatures from ff.7 to 197 and ff.238 to 245 on inserted leaves [the full, rather complex collation published in the 1979 facsimile edition is available from the department], 18 lines written in black ink in a gothic bookhand between 2 verticals and 19 horizontals ruled in red, text justification: 116 x 74mm, rubrics in red, one- and two-line initials with staves of grey with white frondy penwork against grounds of brown with gold penwork decoration, line-endings of similar colours, devotions open with five- or six-line illuminated initials with staves of acanthus against coloured grounds, TWELVE FULL-PAGE CALENDAR BORDERS with camaeu d'or frames with roundels illustrative of the major feasts, zodiac signs and full-colour miniatures of occupations of the month, FIVE SMALL MINIATURES with accompanying full-page borders, SIXTY-SEVEN FULL-PAGE ARCH-TOPPED MINIATURES WITH SURROUNDING BORDERS and matching borders on the facing pages, two further text-pages with full borders, all the borders of richly varied trompe l'oeil type, some with sprays of acanthus and strewn flowers and including insects and vignettes, some with camaeu d'or architectural surrounds with sculptural figures or reliefs, others with jewels and enamels against coloured grounds, individual borders of cloth of gold, peacock feathers, and pages where the border space contains narratives to augment or complement the subject of the miniature. (Lacking four leaves, three with miniatures and one with a full-page border, slight pigment losses from the backgrounds of two miniatures, ff.120v and 124v, small smudge on the edge of a border on ff.1v, 2, 5v and 125, otherwise in immaculate condition.)