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Source Description

This leaf originally belonged to a mid-thirteenth-century gradual from southern Germany, or possibly the Seitenstetten region of Austria. The pages contain the fragmentary hymns for the feasts of St. Lawrence and the Assumption of the Virgin. The illumination introduces the latter, in the form of a large historiated initial "G," and depicts the death of the Virgin surrounded by apostles in the lower portion of the initial, while revealing her assumption into Heaven above. Christ appears within a rainbow mandorla and holds a small figure representing Mary's soul, an image that is based on Byzantine iconography. Originally the verso of the leaf, the image was fortuitously preserved due to the recto having been re-used as an account book cover in the early seventeenth century, the title of which is still visible.

Scholar Source Context

Document identity
localId
36768
label
Single Leaf from a Gradual with the Assumption of the Virgin
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
36768
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Single Leaf from a Gradual with the Assumption of the Virgin
description
This leaf originally belonged to a mid-thirteenth-century gradual from southern Germany, or possibly the Seitenstetten region of Austria. The pages contain the fragmentary hymns for the feasts of St. Lawrence and the Assumption of the Virgin. The illumination introduces the latter, in the form of a large historiated initial "G," and depicts the death of the Virgin surrounded by apostles in the lower portion of the initial, while revealing her assumption into Heaven above. Christ appears within a rainbow mandorla and holds a small figure representing Mary's soul, an image that is based on Byzantine iconography. Originally the verso of the leaf, the image was fortuitously preserved due to the recto having been re-used as an account book cover in the early seventeenth century, the title of which is still visible.
provenance
Originally part of a gradual, South Germany or Seitenstetten region of Austria, mid-13th century; Page re-used as a book wrapper, Germany (?), 17th century [titled and dated on recto in large black letters: GeldtRegister / Anno / 1624 / Biss Anno / 1625]; L'Art Ancien, Zurich, before 1955; Walters Art Museum, December 1955, by purchase.
date
mid 13th century
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
illuminated manuscripts
folios (leaves)
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
32.8
height
19.5
dimensionsRaw
H: 12 15/16 × W: 7 11/16 in. (32.8 × 19.5 cm)
Source extras
style
Gothic
RelatedObjects
90748
90745
med
ink and pigments on parchment
creator_ids
6211
collection_ids
MSS
exhibition_ids
106
96
3310
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
4cddc956bcd97d3e