The low-resolution images published on this Website are made available under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (CC BY-NC-ND). For more details: Fitzwilliam Terms of Use
This licence does not include any images of works that are still in copyright. Artistic copyright extends from the life of the artist to 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the artist died.
Download this imageFor further information on use of images or to license a high resolution version, please contact our image library who can discuss terms and fees.
Historiated initial from an Antiphoner
Artist: Libri, Girolamo dai
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Parchment, 170 x 173 mm, two fragmentary four-line musical staves ruled in red ink and two lines of fragmentary words on reverse, partially obscured by cardboard onto which they were mounted previously.
CONTENTS: Part of Psalm 109 and the antiphon for Matins for the Feast of the Conception of the Virgin (8 Dec.) on reverse: David. Ps[almus] Dixi[t dominus domino meo]…[con]ceptio est hodi[e]; the initial would have introduced the antiphon, Conceptio est hodie.
DECORATION: Historiated initial formed of pink acanthus with green and blue details on gold ground: [C, 2 ll.] St Anne seated on a stone bench within a landscape, the Virgin, dragon at her feet, seated on St Anne’s lap, and the Christ Child standing on the Virgin’s knee, holding an olive branch and blessing.
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1912) by Marlay, Charles Brinsley
16th Century, second quarter
Circa
1540
CE
-
Circa
1550
CE
Support composed of parchment
Accession number: Marlay cutting Z. 3
Primary reference Number: 178990
Project ID: 1428
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Manuscripts and Printed Books
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Historiated initial from an Antiphoner" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/178990 Accessed: 2025-12-05 08:50:53
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/178990
|title=Historiated initial from an Antiphoner
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-05 08:50:53|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:
https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-178990
To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:
<div class="text-center">
<figure class="figure">
<img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/msspb/msspb3/Marlay_20Cutting_20Z__203.jpg"
alt="Historiated initial from an Antiphoner"
class="img-fluid" />
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Historiated initial from an Antiphoner</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...