MS in Latin on vellum, Paris, France, ca. 1200, 204 ff. (complete), 28x20 cm, 2 columns, (19x12 cm), 55 lines in regular early Gothic book script of high grade and very good quality, by at least 3 scribes, marginal glosses within elegant triangular designs in an exquisite Gothic book script, authorities in narrow columns in outer margins in red, 1-line initials in blue or red sometimes with flourishes, 3-line Psalm initials in biblical text in dark blue or red with penwork, 18 4-to 16-line illuminated and 2 historiated initials in very elaborate and delicate designs of intertwined spiral stems with the heads of dragons and lions, lush leaves and clambering animals in colours, tracery and burnished gold, related to the finest MSS of the workshop of Ptolemy's Almagest (B.N. ms. lat. 16200), copied from an exemplar at St. Victor in Paris.

Binding:Paris, France, ca. 1200, massive wooden boards with metal fittings, sewn on 5 thongs, with a 15th c. painting 21x13 cm of the Flight into Egypt by the Master of the Osservanza, deriving loosely from Fra Angelico's panel in the Museo di San Marco, Firenze. It is held in place by 4 strips of copper gilt, Romanesque Mosan work with repeated stamped impressions of a palmette within an arch, struck from stamps used in the workshop of Nicholas of Verdun and his circle in Köln (ca. 1181-1230). 4 metal gilt beaded-edged frames divided into rectangular compartments enclosing purple velvet, lower cover with red velvet. The original central enamel or ivory plaque was replaced by the present Master of the Osservanza panel in 1724.

Context: The 4 square Mosan enamel cornerpieces, ca. 1200, showing the Evangelists' symbols, were removed by Major J.R. Abbey and sold at Sotheby's 16.5.1968:36 and 13.12.1979:4, and are now owned by Ronald Lauder, New York. The companion piece to the "Flight into Egypt" panel is the Master of the Osservanza "Dream of St. Joseph", cat. no. 11 in

Binding: Limoges, France, 13th c., upper cover of a Gospel book, originally on wooden boards, 34x24 cm, with Christ in majesty holding a gospel book within a mandorla, surrounded by the 4 gospel symbols, 3 of them inscribed in red capitals: Iohannes, Marcus and Lucas, between them 4 oval rock crystals, the cornerpieces with tri-partite leaves in champlevé enamel, each with an oval rock crystal, all in colours dark and light blue, green, red and white. The original wooden cover was in the 19th c. substituted with the present copper gilt plate with scrollwork in silver gilt added in the mandorla and outer panels.

Provenance: 1. Monastic or princely commission, France (13th c.); 2. H.P. Kraus collection, Ridgefield, Connecticut, U.S.A.

Binding: Serbia, 15th c., copper gilt upper cover of a gospel book, 31x24 cm, in central panel the Crucifixion, with Christ flanked by the Virgin and St. John; above the cross symbolic representations of the Sun and Moon between 2 angels. The symbols of the Evangelists, with individualised faces and postures occupy the 4 corners. The outer panels niches contain: James top centre, Sts Philip, Peter and Thomas on the left, John the Baptist, Paul and Andrew on the right, the resurrected Christ bottom centre.

Provenance: 1. Monastic or princely commission, Serbia (15th c.); 2. Private icon collection, Germany (-2000); 3. . Sam Fogg Rare Books Ltd., London.

Commentary: The workmanship and gilding are of very finest quality, - perhaps even more remarkable is the splendid way in which the surge of vitality in western art, which characterised the Renaissance, is here married to the living traditions of Byzantium and the Orthodox Church. The ivy-leaves can be compared with those on a flabellum now at the Monastery of Banja, near Priboj, and also with the decoration of a silver bowl at Pristina. The drapery folds are executed very much in the 15th c. style, proving the respect for traditional forms in Serbian art.

As the triumphant Turks swept through eastern Europe following the fall of Constantinople (1453), painter and craftsmen fled before them, many finding their way to the Ionian Isles and the territories of the Dalmatian coast which Venezia had taken from the Byzantine Empire many years earlier. The resulting Italian influence on their work is familiar through the beautiful icons of the Reto-Venetian School. This book cover shows the extent to which craftsmen in metal were able to combine the best of both worlds. The classic Byzantine style of the intricate background of stylised foliage is given a new richness by the "gothic" feel of features such as the spiralling flow of the robes of the angels above the cross, and the form of the niches which contain the figures in the margins. The use of gilt on copper, effectively unknown in Byzantium for such artefacts, may well reflect the attractions of newly learnt western techniques as much as a need to reduce cost.

The fact that the bust of James, from which the head is missing, perhaps deliberately defaced, has been given pride of place at the centre of the top margin raises interesting possibilities. James was, supposedly, the author of the important apocrypha known as the Protoevangelium of James which tells the story of the early lives of the Virgin and Christ. 3 of the principal feasts of Orthodoxy - the Birth of the Virgin, Her Presentation in the Temple, and the Nativity - derive their settings from the Protoevangelium. It may be that the writings contained in this cover included the Protoevangelium, and that it was the cover of a volume kept with the "secret books" of a monastery. This would account for its having been carefully preserved and relatively little handled.

See also MS 034, Painted panel by Cozzarelli, Siena, mid 15th c.

MS in Arabic on paper, Iran, ca. 1300, 359 ff. (-25 ff.), 10 vols., 44x31 cm, single column, (30x21 cm), 5 lines in muhaqqaq script, titles in silver, gold rosettes pointed in blue and red as verse dividers, marginal medallions in gold on a red ground every 5th verse, marginal medallions in gold with silver surround and decorated with leaves every 10th verse, 3 lines of muhaqqaq on a ground of red penwork arabesques, framed in gold, containing varying number of medallions and lozenges.

Binding: Iran, ca. 1300, extensively blind-tooled brown morocco, each with eight-lobed central medallion, flap with central field of interlocking strapwork, sewn on 3 cords.

Provenance: Sam Fogg Rare Books Ltd., London.

Commentary: Complete folio size 30 volumes sets in contemporary bindings from 1300 or earlier hardly survive in any library. Even sets of 10 volumes are exceptional. The Khalili collection has no more than 2 folio volumes in bindings from this period.

Binding: Germany, 14th c., black cowhide, 12x9x4 cm, blindstamped decoration on a ground of minute fleur-de-lis, front and back: consisting of alternating vertical bands of coat of arms of a standing eagle with opened wings, and Agnus Dei within a roundel; on the sides: coat of arms of Saxon Lion and fleur-de-lis; on the lid: horizontal bands of coat of arms of Saxon lion and standing eagle from a side view, both in smaller execution. The dome-shaped lid attached with long iron hinges and with clasp to lock on the front of the box, iron loops for a carrying strap.

Provenance: 1. Private collection, Germany; 2. Günther Glück, Hamburg; 3. Colin and Charlotte Franklin, Oxford (1980-ies); 4. . Sam Fogg Rare Books Ltd., London.

Binding: Lombardia, Italy, 1450-1475, black goatskin, 25x23x4 cm, worked in cuir-ciselé technique throughout, the sides with similar ornament comprising large rosette encircled by a leafy tendril with 4 smaller rosettes on a punched ground; the lid inscribed LAUS DEO in a mixture of Gothic script and capitals, separated by a harp, between 2 half-suns with human faces, the other side inscribed PER AMORE in capitals, separated with a rosette, with a half-sun with human face to the left; the sides with loops to hold a strap.

Context: One of a small group of 9 cuir-ciselé book boxes from Venezia or Lombardia. The most famous of these holds Cardinal Bessarion's act of donation of his library to the Venetian Republic in 1468. Others bear the arms of Borso d'Este, Duke of Ferrara 1450-1471, and Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milano 1466-1470.

Provenance: 1. Sotheby's 28.5.1992:17.