Christmas

Collection ID

MS.000893

Type

Manuscript

Date

ca. 1500–1520

Geography

England

Language

Latin and Middle English

Medium

Ink on Vellum

Dimensions

ii (paper flyleaves) + 242 + ii (paper flyleaves) folios; 9 7/16 × 6 7/8 × 3 1/2 in. (24 × 17.5 × 8.9 cm)

Exhibit Location

On View in The History of the Bible, Translating the Bible

The Bute Book of Hours is a richly decorated manuscript made in England in the early sixteenth century for an influential patron. Miniatures attest to the patron’s support of the Tudor dynasty; Lancastrian roses abound, and one miniature depicts King Henry VI, who died in the Tower of London in 1471 and was popularly considered to be a miracle worker, saint, and martyr—Henry VII proposed his canonization around 1492. Another miniature portraying St. Thomas Becket with devotional prayers survived the suppression of his cult by Henry VIII.

Created around 1510, England.[1] Acquired before 1860 by John Payne; Purchased at auction in 1860 by Bernard Quaritch.[2] Acquired by Simpson Rostron, JP, Beddington, England (1833–1907).[3] Purchased at auction in 1910 by Walter J. Leighton (1850–1917);[4] Sold at auction in 1918.[5] Acquired by John Chrichton-Stuart (1907–1956), the Fifth Marquess of Bute, Scotland; By descent in 1956 to John Chrichton-Stuart (1933–1993), the Sixth Marquess of Bute, Scotland; Purchased at auction in 1983 by Karl Leister, Château Champvent, Switzerland.[6] Acquired in 1997 by William M. B. Berger (1925–1999) and Bernadette Johnson Berger (1940–2015), Colorado; Gifted to the Berger Collection Educational Trust;[7] Privately purchased in 2018 by Green Collection, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma;[8] Donated in 2019 to The Signatry, Overland Park, Kansas, under the curatorial care of Museum of the Bible, Washington, DC.

Notes: [1] Although there is a full-page miniature of the patron and his wife praying to the Virgin and child (f. 20v and f. 21r, respectively), it is not certain who they are. Suggestions include Thomas Howard, third Duke of Norfolk (1473–1554) and his wife, Anne of York (1475–1511/1512); Sir William Capell (ca. 1446–1515), a Lord Mayor of London and member of Parliament, and his wife Margaret Arundell Capell (1456–1519); or Sir Stephen Jenyns (ca. 1450–1523).[2] Auction by Sotheby’s, London, June 20, 1860, Lot 117. [3] His bookplate is inside the front cover. It has the initials JP after the name, indicating he was a Justice of the Peace for the County of Surrey. See https://www.google.com/books/edition/Armorial_Families/uzc6AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Justices+of+the+peace,+Beddington,+Surrey&pg=PA106&printsec=frontcover, p. 715. The manuscript number written on the bookplate, MS. 273, was the Bute collection number. [4] Auction by Sotheby’s, London, July 21, 1910, Lot 119. [5] Auction by Sotheby’s, London, November 15, 1918, Lot 380. It is unclear if the buyer was John Chrichton-Stuart, the Fifth Marquess of Bute, or if he acquired it shortly thereafter. [6] Auction by Sotheby’s, London, June 13, 1983, Lot 34. [7] The Berger Collection Educational Trust was founded shortly after William Berger’s death in 1999. It is uncertain when the manuscript was gifted to the trust. The collection was on loan to the Denver Art Museum until 2018. [8] The Green Collection purchased the manuscript in a private sale from Sotheby’s, London, where it was on consignment from the Berger collection Educational Trust.

Selected References:

Linda Ehrsam Voigts, “Plague Saints, Henry VII and Saint Armel,” in Saints and Cults in Medieval England, ed. Susan Powell, Harlaxton Medieval Studies 27 (New Series) (Shaun Tyas Publications: Donington, UK, 2017), 101–123.

Lori M. Grecco, “Illuminating Faith: The Bute Book of Hours” (master’s thesis, University of Denver, 2010), https://digitalcommons.du.edu/art_mrp/294 (abstract only).

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