Book illumination A holy martyr. Historiated initial 'I' from an antiphonal, illuminated manuscript on vellum (Tuscany, possibly Florence, mid-14th century). 26.3 x 8 cm. The initial framed by an orange-coloured frame with split bar filling with gold overlay. Verso with penwork initial with fleuronné and square notes. Mounted under passepartout. Provenance: Christies, auction 10457, lot 10 (2015). - Private collection Germany. - Splendid initial "I", depicting the imminent beheading of an unknown martyr saint by an executioner with a sword and introducing the first antiphon In lege domini at Matins for the feast of the one martyr. The text on the reverse "perceptum (...) monte (...) Voce (...) (cl)amavi" could be a reference to Psalm 142. - The colour palette of bright orange, soft pink and copper green is reminiscent of the miniatures illuminated by Pacino di Bonaguida in the Laudario, of which only 28 fragments have survived. These were made for the Compagnia di Sant' Agnese in the church of Santa Maria del Carmine and are dated by Barbara Boehm to the 1340s (Morgan, Panayotova, Reynolds, A Catalogue of Western Book Illumination in the Fitzwilliam Museum and the Cambridge Colleges: Italy and the Iberian Peninsula, 2001, p.37). Compositional elements, a grey-green pallor of the skin and the shape of the saint's hands are particularly reminiscent of the fragments in the Fitzwilliam (Marlay cutting It. 83) and in Queens' College, Cambridge (MS 77b). (Cf. Christie's auction catalogue). The heel of the hair and the incarnation are reminiscent of the depiction of the Three Graces in the Convenevole da Prato, which is also dated to the 1340s. (Cf. British Library Royal Collection BL Royal 6 E IX, f. 24v). The use of this modulation of the copper-green colour can also be seen later in the Osservanza Master (initial O) around 1430. (Cf. MET, New York, Robert Lehman Collection, 1975.1.2484). A holy martyr. Historiated initial 'I' from an antiphonal, illuminated manuscript on vellum (Tuscany, possibly Florence, mid-14th century). 26.3 x 8 cm. The initial framed by an orange frame with split bar filling and rich gilding. Verso with penwork initial with fleuronné and square notes. Mounted under passepartout. Provenance: Christies, auction 10457, lot 10 (2015). - Private collection Germany. - Magnificent initial "I", depicting the imminent beheading of an unknown martyr saint by an executioner with a sword and introducing the first antiphon In lege domini at Matins for the feast of the one martyr. The text on the reverse "perceptum (...) monte (...) Voce (...) (cl)amavi" could be a reference to Psalm 142. - The colour palette of bright orange, soft pink and copper green is reminiscent of the miniatures illuminated by Pacino di Bonaguida in the Laudario, of which only 28 fragments have survived. These were made for the Compagnia di Sant' Agnese in the church of Santa Maria del Carmine and are dated by Barbara Boehm to the 1340s (Morgan, Panayotova, Reynolds, A Catalogue of Western Book Illumination in the Fitzwilliam Museum and the Cambridge Colleges: Italy and the Iberian Peninsula, 2001, p.37). Compositional elements, a grey-green pallor of the skin and the shape of the saint's hands are particularly reminiscent of the fragments in the Fitzwilliam (Marlay cutting It. 83) and in Queens' College, Cambridge (MS 77b). (Cf. Christie's auction catalogue). The heel of the hair and the incarnation are reminiscent of the depiction of the Three Graces in the Convenevole da Prato, which is also dated to the 1340s. (Cf. British Library Royal Collection BL Royal 6 E IX, f. 24v). The use of this modulation of the copper green can also be seen later in the Osservanza Master (initial O) around 1430. (Cf. MET, New York, Robert Lehman Collection, 1975.1.2484).