A Miracle: Book of Hours in the Shape of the French Royal Lily. From the Collections of King Henri II(?), Emperor Napoleon, E. de Beauharnais and Viscount Combermere

Book of Hours. Horae B. M. V. for the use of Rome. Illuminated manuscript on paper in Latin with 11 miniatures in irregular shape by Charles Jourdain. Paris, 1553. 117 leaves, a bit browned and repaired in the gutters, else in very good condition (one leaf lacking?). Closed in half lily shape, so that the open double pages each form the outline of a bourbon lily (181 x 80 mm). Binding of the late 18th or 19th century, in the style of the original: Light brown morocco with gold-stamped fleurs de lis in semé style, lined in red morocco with all-over gold stamping in a set of arches with acanthus and flower decoration. Gilt edges with original tooling.

This totally unknown manuscript is one of only two in the world bound in the shape of a bourbon lily. The other manuscript is Ms. Escalopier 22 in the library of Amiens, dedicated to King Henri II and Diane de Poitiers, dated 1555-56 and written on vellum.

So, the appearance of this codex is a sheer sensation. There can be no doubt that our paper manuscript not only predates the Amiens manuscript, clearly designed for Henri II, by two years, but that it also serves as a kind of maquette for this manuscript written on the more precious parchment. Both manuscripts are works from the immediate circle of the king, who distinguished himself as an art lover. This infinitely valuable manuscript was probably always in the possession of nobility or the royal-imperial hierarchy until 1815, as on 31 July of that year in the castle of Malmaison it was presented to Baron Combermere, Wellington's representative in France, by Eugène de Beauharnais (Napoleon's stepson) together with other books from Napoleon's estate as a gift.

Since then in private Anglo-Saxon ownership for almost 200 years, the appearance of this work must be regarded as an unrivalled trouvaille: both as a document of ingenious royal book care of the 16th century, but also as a unique relic of the greatest book creating and binding art in Europe, the French of the 16th century, reborn under Napoleon I.

Later provenance: Endpapers with ownership entries difficult to read, including one dated 1630; Charles de Viel-Castel, father of the diplomat, writer and commander of the Legion of Honour of the same name, is present with a signature from 1808. Viel-Castel apparently dedicated the volume to Emperor Napoleon or his wife Josephine at that time, as we find the subsequent entry by Baron Combermere that he received the manuscript on 31 July 1815 in Malmaison from Eugène de Beauharnais. Stapleton Cotton, Baron (later Viscount) Combermere had been Wellington's right-hand man since 1812 and his successor after his victory at Waterloo in 1815, he mentions this gift in a letter cited in his biography written by his wife in 1866, p. 328-330.

This manuscript is lot 66 in our catalogue 82 Paris mon Amour V. You can view the digital version here or order the printed catalogue in our Online Shop.

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