bavarikon4UDescription
The book of hours created around the middle of the fifteenth century in Northern France, is an artistically sophisticated example of a Livre d'Heures. The 130 fine parchment sheets bear next to five miniatures and eleven full-page decorated initials in opaque coloration further rich book decoration: a high number of small initials inscribed in gold on a ground divided into red and blue, for the most part surrounded by delicate scrolls in gold leaf. In the case of this Book of Hours, the text is bilingual: while the prayers are composed in the Latin language, the calendar at the beginning of work is written in French. It is lavishly decorated and inscribed with golden as well as red and blue ink. The manuscript originates from the library of the margraves in Bayreuth, where Margravine Wilhelmine (1709-1758), princess of Prussia, ordered the book to be newly bound and to be furbished with her supralibros. Supralibros are coats of arms or monograms, which declare who is the owner on the book cover.