The Annunciation, miniature from a Book of Hours, illuminated manuscript on vellum [Paris, c.1445-50]

A sumptuous and imposing miniature by the Dunois Master, one of the dominant figures of French illumination, from what would have been an exceptionally lavish and rich commission.

213 x 142mm. The miniature with the Annunciation above a historiated initial and a full border incorporating 5 roundels depicting scenes from the Life of the Virgin, opening the Hours of the Virgin in a Book of Hours, reverse with 16 lines of text and 5 illuminated initials and a partial border (fading to the midtones of the pink pigment, small losses to the blue of the robes). Mounted and framed. Provenance: Tajan, 28 November 2011, lot 65. Two leaves with identical dimensions and layout and likely from the same Hours are a Crucifixion sold at Sotheby's, 4 December 2007, lot 7 (attributed to the Dunois Master but in fact by one of his frequent collaborators, the Master of the Munich Golden Legend); and a David in Prayer, Private Collection, New York (illustrated in Art de l'Enluminure, 47 (2013-14), p.17).

The refined miniature is by the Dunois Master, the successor of the Bedford Master as the leading painter in Paris (Avril and Reynaud Les manuscrits à peintures en France, p.37) and in conception and execution is a fabulous example of his painterly and atmospheric detailing. The scene can be compared to its magnificent counterpart in the Salisbury Breviary, commissioned by John, Duke of Bedford, in c.1424 and never completed (Paris, BnF ms lat. 17294, f.440). The Dunois Master worked extensively for the French court, as in his named work, the Count of Dunois’ Book of Hours (British Library, Yates Thompson 3), and the Hours of Simon de Varie, dated 1455 (J. Paul Getty Museum and The Hague KB 74 G37a). The parent manuscript from which this miniature comes would have been a sumptuous commission, much larger in size than the Dunois Hours. The iconography of the hisoriated initial is unusual: at first glance an Annunciation to the Shepherds, the non-conventional shepherd on the right is more likely Moses, and the scene — that of Moses and the burning bush — a traditional metaphor for the Virginity of Mary (thus a suitable accompaniment to the Annunciation miniature).