Author: Evan Nicole Brown / Source: Atlas Obscura
The seventh edition of Frieze Masters, an annual art fair in London, opens to the public today. The fair features art exclusively by artists who are thought to have mastered their craft—hence the name.
The timeline at Masters is long; there are over 130 gallerists present, who will showcase a range of art from antiquity to the 20th century.
One object is of particular intrigue: a 15th-century “book of hours,” created in Paris.At Frieze, Dr. Jörn Günther Rare Books, an antiquarian dealer based in Basel (the city where the Swiss, French, and German borders meet), is selling one of these rare books (circa 1405) for a casual €1 million ($1.15 million). These books, so named because they were to be read at fixed times of day, are Christian devotional objects that reached their peak popularity during the Middle Ages in Western Europe.
“They consist, at their base, of sets of prayers to the Virgin Mary as well as additional series of prayers depending on the book,” says Erin Donovan, the antiquarian firm’s Deputy Director. “The prayers are to be said eight times per day, every three hours, as the prayer cycle follows that of monasteries.” These religious works were intended for lay people to use in their homes, as a way to specifically incorporate elements of monasticism into their daily, private lives.
Decorated margins were standard, but more heavily illustrated books…
The post A Closer Look at a Million-Dollar Medieval Manuscript appeared first on FeedBox.