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Historiated initial from a Gradual: Marlay cutting It. 13.ii

An image of Cutting (manuscript)

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Object information

Current Location: In storage

Titles

Historiated initial from a Gradual

Maker(s)

Artist: Gherarducci, Don Silvestro dei
Artist: Canzoni, Maestro delle
Artist: Rosselli, Niccolo
Artist: Cenni, Cenni di Francesco di Ser

Entities

Categories

Description

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Parchment, initial approx. 260 x 120 mm, 3 lines of fragmentary text ruled in plummet and two and a half four-line musical staves ruled in red ink.

CONTENTS: Isolated letters and notes on reverse; the initial I would have opened the Introit to the Mass for Easter Monday, Introduxit vos Dominus in terram fluentem lac et mel, Alleluia. Et ut lex domini semper sit in ore vestro, Alleluia, Alleluia. Psalmus. Confitemini domini.

DECORATION: Historiated initial in graded blue, orange, pale yellow and liquid gold with acanthus extensions on a ground of gold leaf: [I] Christ the Redeemer, whose figure forms the initial, holding an image of the Earth inscribed with the three known continents, Asia, Vropia, Africha.

Notes

History note: The initials belonged to a choir book made for the Camaldolese Monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Florence: Corale 3 (Gradual), fol. 19; excised during the Napoleonic campaigns, 1797-1809; thereafter: Museo Cavaleri, Milan (ink stamp of the Museo Cavaleri on the reverse of Marlay Cutting It. 13.i; Levi D’Ancona 1978); Charles Brinsley Marlay (1831-1912); his bequest, 1912.

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1912) by Marlay, Charles Brinsley

Dating

14th Century, Late
Production date: circa AD 1390 : Marlay cuttings It. 13A and MS 5-1979 after 1370-1375 Marlay cutting It. 13.ii c.1409 with additions of c.1450

People, subjects and objects depicted

Project

  • Cambridge Illuminated

Materials used in production

Gold leaf

Components of the work

Support composed of parchment

Techniques used in production

Illumination

References and bibliographic entries

Related exhibitions

Identification numbers

Accession number: Marlay cutting It. 13.ii
Primary reference Number: 178352
Project ID: 1364
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Friday 17 May 2024 Last processed: Wednesday 14 May 2025

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Manuscripts and Printed Books

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Historiated initial from a Gradual" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/178352 Accessed: 2025-12-05 09:51:17

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