Description
Books of hours were devotional books popular in the Middle Ages. Meant for laypeople, or those not in the clergy they were used at home and contained daily prayers as well as prayers for specific occasions, such as death, plague, warfare, travel, or bad weather. The heart of every book of hours is the Hours of the Virgin. With this set of prayers, the reader
asked the Virgin Mary to intercede on their behalf. The Adoration of the Magi opens sext, the sixth hour of the day or noon. The Coronation of the Virgin begins compline, which is before retiring.
asked the Virgin Mary to intercede on their behalf. The Adoration of the Magi opens sext, the sixth hour of the day or noon. The Coronation of the Virgin begins compline, which is before retiring.
Provenance
Dr. Vladimir G. Simkhovitch, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art (-1955); The Cleveland Museum of Art (1955-)
Pair of Bifolio from a Book of Hours: Adoration of the Magi and Coronation of the Virgin
Boucicaut Masterc. 1415
Accession Number
1955.79
Medium
ink, tempera, and gold on vellum
Dimensions
Folio: 16.8 x 12.7 cm (6 5/8 x 5 in.)
Classification
Manuscript
Credit Line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund