Les Enluminures

Les Enluminures PARIS- 1 rue Jean Jacques Rousseau, Paris
NEW YORK- 23 East 73rd Street, 7th Floor, NY
CHICAGO- 980 North Michigan Ave.

Suite 1330, Chicago

Please contact us to arrange an appointment (Open 9-5 pm) or visit us at the New York gallery during exhibitions. www.lesenluminures.com
www.textmanuscripts.com

A vibrant display of 14th century devotion 🙏🏽✨The detailed composition stands out for its vivid and vibrant color palett...
12/02/2025

A vibrant display of 14th century devotion 🙏🏽✨

The detailed composition stands out for its vivid and vibrant color palette, leveraging contrasts of green, pink, and blue. Equally exuberant is the initial, set against a gold background, integrating the architectural elements of the main scene and branching intricate and colorful vegetation.

Monks Singing in and Initial 'K' from a Choir Book
- Italy Lombardy, dated 1476
- 215 x 240 mm, initial 195 x 205 mm

Visit the link in our bio to learn more about this piece.

One of one:

An endearing miniature with an elegant color palette ✨🖌️From above, an angel holds a scroll inscribed "Her name will be ...
08/02/2025

An endearing miniature with an elegant color palette ✨🖌️

From above, an angel holds a scroll inscribed "Her name will be Mary." The soft semi-grisaille palette is typical of this artist, Jean Haincelin, the son of Haincelin de Hagunau.

Annunciation to Joachim and Anne Teaching Mary to Read, leaf from a Book of Hours
- France, Paris, c. 1445-1450
- leaf: 123 x 88mm; miniature: 70 x 45 mm.

It's Aquarius season! ♒️🌊✨These small miniatures illustrate the Labors of thr Months and the Signs of the Zodiac gor fiv...
07/02/2025

It's Aquarius season! ♒️🌊✨

These small miniatures illustrate the Labors of thr Months and the Signs of the Zodiac gor five of the twelve months from a medieval calendar, most likely a Book of Hours. The narrow gold framing around the top, bottom, and outer side of each cutting demonstrates that they were paired within a single gold/edged rectangle, the Labor on the left, the Zodiac in the right.

View these lovely miniatures in our show "East meets West" in collaboration with during February 1-8th, 11am - - 6pm daily.

Labors of the Months and Zodiac Signs, seven cuttings from a Book of Hours
- France, Paris or Boutges, c. 1410
- each c. 35 x 35 mm

A previously unpublished cutting with unique details 🐉🌟This previously unpublished cutting from Cristoforo Cortese's fi...
06/02/2025

A previously unpublished cutting with unique details 🐉🌟

This previously unpublished cutting from Cristoforo Cortese's first major commission, a Psalter or Choir Book made for the muns of the Corpus Domini. Surely the burial odds the Dominican nun in the present illumination represents a specific member of the order, but without further evidence we cannot know her identity.

See this miniature in "East Meets West," a collaborative exhibition with during
from February 1-8th, on view until February 28th.

The Burial of a Dominican Nun, in an initial 'S' from a Choir Book (?)
- Italy, Venice, 1401-1402
- 93 x 98 mm

Poignant and colorful initial by an accomplished illuminator, still to be identified 🔍This remarkable initial comes from...
03/02/2025

Poignant and colorful initial by an accomplished illuminator, still to be identified 🔍

This remarkable initial comes from an as-yet unidentified Choir book that was most likely illuminated in Northern Italy or Piedmont around 1500. The size of this two-line initial suggests that the volume was particularly large.

The initial depicts a Funeral service: as a priest asperse a dead man lying on his bier, dressed and coiffed as a lawyer, two acolytes hold the cross and candles, while six mourners bear witness to the ceremony. The composition stands out for the painterly modelling of the faces and the successful restitution of depth, as the scene extends into an atmospheric landscape in which a city emerges in the distance.

-Giovanni Pietro da Cemmo
-Funeral Service, in an initial ‘C’ from a Choir Book
-Italy, Lombardy, c. 1495–1500
-145 × 179 mm

Visit the link in our bio to learn more.

History is cool:

🇺🇸 Crosses as Jewelry: Ancient Symbol, Timeless Style. Discover eight exceptional crosses ranging from the late Middle A...
22/01/2025

🇺🇸 Crosses as Jewelry: Ancient Symbol, Timeless Style.

Discover eight exceptional crosses ranging from the late Middle Ages to the 19th century. From Late Antiquity onwards crosses have held a timeless appeal as jewelry, here distilled to its most sophisticated form. Highlights include an elegant Portuguese crucifix pendant and an exceptional German reliquary pendant with Christ on the Cross.

Join us at the Winter Show to see more of this exhibition, on booth A6 at the Park Avenue Armory in New York from January 24th to February 2nd.

🇰🇷 ‘보석류로써의 십자가 - 고대의 상징, 시대를 초월하는 스타일”

중세 후기부터 19세기까지 아우르는 특별한 십자가 8점을 만나보세요. 고대의 후기부터 지금까지 십자가는 시대를 초월하는 보석 장신구로써의 가치를 유지해왔는데, 이번 전시에서는 그 중에서도 가장 정교하게 다듬어진 작품들을 골랐습니다. 특히 우리의 눈을 끄는 작품은 포르투갈 십자가 목걸이와 십자가에 매달린 예수가 장식된 아주 특별한 독일 성물함 목걸이입니다. 이 전시를 보시려면 1월 24읿무터 2월 2일까지 열리는 윈터쇼의 A6번 부스로 와주세요.

An elegant display of friendship and love 💝Cluster rings, such as ours above, became fashionable in the seventeenth cent...
22/01/2025

An elegant display of friendship and love 💝

Cluster rings, such as ours above, became fashionable in the seventeenth century and can be found studded with different gemstones, including diamonds. Rings such as this one had been worn in Italy, foremost in the region of Lazio. This ring may have been a gift from a loved one - turquoise symbolized friendship or love since the Renaissance period, and the tradition continued well into the nineteenth century.

-Turquoise Cluster Ring
-Gold, turquoise
-Italy, c. 1800
-Weight 3.3g.; Circumference 58.21mm.; US Size 8 ½ ; UK Size Q ¾

One of one:

Learn more about this ring by visiting the link in our bio.

In Her Hands: Women and Medieval Manuscript is now on view both at our booth and online.Featuring eight spectacular pray...
21/01/2025

In Her Hands: Women and Medieval Manuscript is now on view both at our booth and online.

Featuring eight spectacular prayerbooks, this exhibition highlights female patronage in the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance. Most of these manuscripts represent a specific type of prayerbook, a "book of hour," so popular at the time they are often called the "bestseller" of their epoch. Each of these manuscripts is associated with female ownership, some of which contain portraits of the women who commissioned these books hundreds of years ago, giving us insights into their everyday lives.

Join us at the Winter Show to see more of this exhibition, on booth A6 at the Park Avenue Armory in New York from January 24th to February 2nd.

A rare, highly sought-after belt in the royal courts of Europe since the thirteenth century...Such belts and girdles app...
20/01/2025

A rare, highly sought-after belt in the royal courts of Europe since the thirteenth century...

Such belts and girdles appear frequently in contemporary sculpture and painted portraiture, however, few have survived. Our girdle relates most closely to a small corpus of precious metalwork thought to have been made in the Serbian Empire. By the first decades of the fifteenth century, Serbia controlled the largest silver mining centers in the Balkans. Goldsmiths flocked to the region’s urban commercial centers from as far afield as Germany and Italy to fill the increasing demand for exquisite secular and liturgical plate.

Its fantastical imagery reveals evidence of Byzantine influence, and as a secular object, it evokes the fluid and interconnected cultural map that spanned medieval Europe during the period.

-A Silver-Gilt Girdle Decorated with Fantastical Beasts
-Cast, hammered, chased and gilded silver attached to a later red velvet mount
-Serbian Empire, c. 1350-1400

Discover this remarkable girdle belt at our booth or by following the link in bio.

📍Park Avenue Armory, Booth A6

One of a kind:

🇺🇸 Join us at the Winter Show! Opening next week on Friday, January 24th, the Winter Show will be at the Park Avenue Arm...
16/01/2025

🇺🇸 Join us at the Winter Show! Opening next week on Friday, January 24th, the Winter Show will be at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City. Find us on our booth, A6. It will feature two exhibitions, “In her Hands: Women and Medieval Manuscripts ”as well as “Crosses as Jewelry: Ancient Symbol, Timeless Style”. Discover them daily until Sunday, February 2nd. We hope to see you there! See details for opening hours and more in the link in our bio.

🇰🇷 윈터쇼에서 만나요! 다음 주 금요일, 1월 24일에 뉴욕의 파크 아베뉴 아머리 빌딩에서 윈터 쇼가 개최됩니다. 저희 부스는 A6번이고 두개의 전시를 준비했습니다. “그녀의 손 안에- 여성과 중세의 필사본” 그리고 “보석류로써의 십자가 - 고대의 상징, 시대를 초월하는 스타일.” 이번 행사는 2월 2일 일요일까지 열립니다. 곧 만나뵐 수 있기를 바랍니다. 영업시간 및 기타 세부사항은 프로필의 링크를 클릭해 주세요.

A poetic token of love 💍❤Posy rings, their name deriving from the term poésie or poetry, are rings with mottoes either i...
15/01/2025

A poetic token of love 💍❤

Posy rings, their name deriving from the term poésie or poetry, are rings with mottoes either in prose or verse. Like here, the message was often concealed inside the hoop and its content only known to the giver and recipient. They find mention in plays by William Shakespeare, such as Hamlet and the Merchant of Venice, however, throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries posy rings enjoyed great popularity, especially as betrothal or wedding rings, like here, with the inscription evoking God’s blessing ‘Joynd in one by Christ alone’ alluding to the union of the couple joined by Christ. Through the centuries though posy rings were also exchanged between lovers, friends and family members.

- England, 18th century
- Weight 4.1g.; Circumference 52.50mm.; US Size 6 1/4; UK Size M 1/2

One of one:

Learn more about this ring by visiting the link in our bio.

A Window into 15th-Century Devotion ✨This Franco-Flemish miniature, from the circle of the Maestro del Messale (c. 1450–...
08/01/2025

A Window into 15th-Century Devotion ✨

This Franco-Flemish miniature, from the circle of the Maestro del Messale (c. 1450–1475), beautifully depicts the Virgin Mary and Christ, showcasing the intricate detail characteristic of the period.

Considered to be French or Flemish, the artist was active in Brescia or Padua and collaborated with the so-called Maestro del Messale Barbo (active 1458-1467) on several manuscripts. Details of the artist’s work are reminiscent of French and Flemish painters, seen in the figures with heavy-lidded eyes, down-turned mouths, and rounded hands – all rendered with expressive hatchings. This presumed Franco-Flemish artist also decorated the borders with loose sprays of soft foliates, notably at odds with more densely packed borders favored by Italian illuminators.

-Franco-Flemish Painter (Circle of the Maestro del Messale Barbo)
-The Ascension, initial ‘V’ from a Gradual
-Northern Italy, Brescia or Padua (?), c. 1450-1475
-216 x 325 mm., miniature 124 x 135 mm.

One of a kind:

Visit the link in our bio for more information about this exceptional miniature.

An ancient symbol of power and protection ✨This gold bulla pendant, worn by children of aristocratic families in the Lat...
07/01/2025

An ancient symbol of power and protection ✨

This gold bulla pendant, worn by children of aristocratic families in the Late Etruscan and Early Roman eras, symbolized protection and was believed to guard its young wearer from harm.

Crafted from solid gold, this piece reflects the sophisticated artistry and rich cultural heritage of the Late Etruscan and Early Roman periods. The bulla was often given as a gift to newborns, ensuring that their future was blessed with good fortune and divine favor.

-Gold Bulla Pendant
-Gold
-Late Etruscan/ Early Roman, 2nd-1st century BC

Truly Unique:

Visit the link in our bio to learn more about this pendant.

A modest Book of Hours, as well as a rare example of one made for the use of Chartres...The study of Chartres’ manuscrip...
06/01/2025

A modest Book of Hours, as well as a rare example of one made for the use of Chartres...

The study of Chartres’ manuscripts is complicated. Manuscripts made in Chartres are rare because of the bombing of the city’s municipal library during the Second World War. Nearly half of the books from the city’s collection were destroyed during the war.

This one preserves an unusually early “dance of death” iconography prefacing the short Office of the Dead. With illustrations at the opening of each of the major sections of text and attractive liquid gold floral and geometric borders, it survives as a good example of a modestly priced, though complete Horae, then as well as now.

-Book of Hours (Use of Chartres)
-In Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment. 4 large miniatures
-France, Chartres, c. 1470-1480

Learn more by visiting the link in our bio.

History is Cool:

What's a tart mold ring? 🧐🥧 Discover this one and its beautiful emerald 💎Due to the shape of the bezel the design is oft...
03/01/2025

What's a tart mold ring? 🧐🥧 Discover this one and its beautiful emerald 💎

Due to the shape of the bezel the design is often described as a “pie-dish” or “tart mold” ring. The earliest example is thought to be from the twelfth century, but the design remained highly fashionable into the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.

In the Middle Ages throughout Western Europe rings with gemstones were most popular and these were en cabochon, in their natural form, but polished. Each stone had a special meaning for the wearer, such as a love ring, or one with magical and protective qualities. The stones were often imported from faraway countries in the Far East, or Mediterranean area, emeralds in this period are likely to have come from India.

In the Middle Ages gems were deemed most valuable and thus rings such as this one with gems set in gold were worn by the wealthy members of society.

- Gold, emerald
- England, early 14th century
- Weight 2.2 g.; 62.89 mm.; US Size 10 1/4; UK Size U

History is cool:

Learn more about this ring by visiting the link in our bio.

A charming Book of Hours, held easily in the hand, and an excellent example of Netherlandish realism contemporary.... E...
30/12/2024

A charming Book of Hours, held easily in the hand, and an excellent example of Netherlandish realism contemporary....

Echoes of Eyckian realism occur in the miniature of the Virgin and Child (f. 20) and in the rustic landscape of the Annunciation to the Shepherds (f. 54v). The Masters of the Gold Scrolls – the artist, or more likely artists, responsible of the Towneley Hours – were active roughly contemporary with Jan van Eyck (1390-1441) and primarily in his hometown, Bruges. They take their name from the elaborate decorative backgrounds of liquid-gold scrollwork on pinkish-red grounds.

The earliest works by artists of this group date to the 1410s and owe much to the so-called pre-Eyckian illuminators, and they continued to be active in the post-Eyckian decades into the 1450s. It is thought that Willim Vrelant, who arrived in Bruges from Utrecht in 1451, took over their workshop. Many of their manuscripts were produced for export, often to London, where Bruges had ties through the wool trade, but also to France, as in the present example.

-The Towneley Hours (use of Rome and Rouen)
-In Latin and French, Illuminated manuscript on parchment. 12 full-page illuminations by the Masters of the Gold Scrolls
-Southern Netherlands, Bruges, 1420s

Visit the link in our bio to learn more.

Truly Unique

An illuminated initial from one of the most important Graduals produced in northern Italy in the mid-fifteenth century.....
20/12/2024

An illuminated initial from one of the most important Graduals produced in northern Italy in the mid-fifteenth century...

It was painted by the so-called “Third Bessarion Master” named for a famous commission of Choir Books originating from the Greek Cardinal Bessarion. Inhabiting an initial ‘B’ that forms the incipit to the Feast of Saint Michael, the archangel dangles a pair of scales in his right hand over a dragon, representing Satan, who he pins to the ground with a spear brandished in his left hand. The pink initial is set against a gold ground, with acanthus leaves sprouting into the margins.

The leaf (originally folio 95 of the Gradual) derives from the fourth of a fourteen-volume series of Choir Books commission by Bessarion for the Franciscan convent of Saint Anthony of Padua in Constantinople. One of the most important churchmen of the fifteenth century and papal legate in Bologna (1450–1455), Bessarion made a gift comprised of four gradual volumes, nine antiphonal volumes and a hymnal.

-Third Bessarion Master (active Lombardy third quarter of 15th century)
-Saint Michael as Weigher of Souls, in an initial ‘B’ from a Gradual
-Ferrara, Bologna, 1450–1460
-Leaf: 565 × 495 mm; miniature: 115 × 125 mm

Visit the link in our bio to learn more.

It's yours now:

A ring representative of high status and love 👑❤️In the Middle Ages throughout Western Europe rings with gemstones were ...
18/12/2024

A ring representative of high status and love 👑❤️

In the Middle Ages throughout Western Europe rings with gemstones were most popular. The stones were en cabochon, carefully polished but left in their natural form. Each stone had a special meaning for the wearer, such as a love ring, or one with magical and protective qualities. The stones came either from Europe (as is likely the case for this garnet) or were imported from faraway countries in the Far East. Similar ring designs are found in various Western European countries, such as Denmark, France, England and Germany, as fashions were widespread through trade connections. During this period gems were deemed as valuable treasures, and rings made of gold would have been an indicator of the wearer being of high status. The garnet was often used a substitute for ruby, traditionally symbolic of love, meaning that this ring may have been given for a betrothal or a wedding.

Due to the shape of the bezel the design is often described as a “pie-dish” or “tart mold” ring. The earliest example is thought to be from the twelfth century, but the design remained highly fashionable into the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries

- Gold, garnet
- Probably England, 14th century
- Weight 4.7g; 60.98 mm US size 9 1/2; UK size S ¾

Truly unique:

Learn more about how rare this ring is by visiting the link in our bio.

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About Us

LES ENLUMINURES was founded in Paris in 1991 by Dr. Sandra Hindman and now has galleries in Paris, New York, and Chicago. The gallery handles highly specialized and exceptionally rare works of art from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The primary focus is on illuminated manuscripts, Books of Hours, miniatures, and medieval rings, but it also presents works of art, such as sculpture and stained-glass windows.

The gallery takes its name from the French word for "illuminations," or miniatures, which are hand-painted pictures in books written by hand, or manuscripts.

Please contact us to arrange an appointment or visit us at the New York gallery during exhibitions.

www.lesenluminures.com www.textmanuscripts.com