Leaf from a Book of Hours with a Miniature of the Annunciation
Unknown Artist
Leaf from a Book of Hours with a Miniature of the Annunciation
Probably Paris, about 1500
Printed book with coloured woodblock illustrations
Cadbury Research Library: Special Collections, University of Birmingham (No. XMS878)
This leaf from an early sixteenth-century Parisian Book of Hours shows a recognisable physical act of devotion in the image through hands held together in prayer.
This act of worship physically shows hands pointing upward to God and incorporates tangible senses of touch to worship.
The surrounding marginalia shows strawberries; a visual motif often associated with righteousness and the Virgin Mary. The words ‘Open Thou, O Lord, my lips…’ were recited at Matins.
Printing books of hours was a very different process to making hand-painted versions which took much longer to complete. Templates were made from woodcut blocks and were then painted over and pressed onto vellum pages, imitating the appearance of hand illustrated manuscripts. The adoption of woodcut printing meant the blocks could be re-combined and re-used in other manuscripts.
The central figure in this leaf is likely the Virgin Mary, often presented in a white robe and blue veil which represented her virtues, devotion and the heavenly skies above. The physical wear to the Virgin Mary’s face shows how frequently this leaf was visited and shows the connection between the manuscript, this specific parable and the personal devotion of its owner.
Physically touching the image could help a reader feel closer to the subjects and their teachings, sometimes painted figures were even kissed. Similarly, additional prayers and a life of Saint Margaret from the sixteenth century have been added to leaves at the beginning and end of the manuscript, reflecting the personal devotion of its owner. The binding of the book was updated around 1750, either reflecting changes in fashion or perhaps repetitive wear to the original cover.