Anonymous Spanish artist
THE JUDGEMENT OF ZEPHANIAH, initial on a bifolium from a Giant Bible [Spain, ?Castile, c. 1300]
A bifolium taken from a turn-of-the-14th-century Giant Spanish Bible. The illumination depicting one of the many apocalyptic prophecies in the book – in this case the Lord's promise that He would ‘consume man and beast; [...] the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea’ – shows the influence of styles current in France, but the script and decorative features point to northern Spain. The vibrant yet nuanced palette of pinks, reds, blues and greens, the striking diapered backgrounds and delicate scrolling infills, and the stylised figures with their formulaic postures are also features of a Castilian Missal at the Victoria and Albert Museum (see R. Watson, Western Illuminated Manuscripts, 2015, cat. no 17).

Provenance:
•The present bifolium, and the other two in the sale that accompany it, was evidently used as a binding fragment, likely for archival material: 19th-century titles (‘Memorial de Marabedises para el dno de 1809’). Three other bifolia from the same manuscript were sold at Christie's, 13 July 2016, lots 103-105.

341 x 236mm. One historiated and one illuminated initial. The text beginning half way through the Prologue to Zephaniah, ‘de magnitudine domini nata est humilitas’.

Please note this lot is the property of a private consignor.

Please note this lot is the property of a consumer. See H1 of the Conditions of Sale.