Skip to main content

Historiated initial from an Antiphoner: MS 278a

An image of Cutting (manuscript)
View image details Mirador icon - view image Mirador deep zoom IIIF Manifest IIIF Manifest Slow looking

Terms of use

The low-resolution images published on this Website are made available under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (CC BY-NC-ND). For more details: Fitzwilliam Terms of Use

This licence does not include any images of works that are still in copyright. Artistic copyright extends from the life of the artist to 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the artist died.

Download this image

For further information on use of images or to license a high resolution version, please contact our image library who can discuss terms and fees.

Alternative views

An image of Cutting (manuscript)
Current Location: In storage

Titles

Historiated initial from an Antiphoner

Maker(s)

Artist: Nascimbene, Nicolò di Giacomo di

Entities

Categories

Description

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Parchment, 315 x 275 mm, initial 218 x 192 mm, two lines of fragmentary text ruled in plummet and three four-line musical staves ruled in red ink, pasted on cardboard.

CONTENTS: The initial would have introduced the responsory for the first lesson of Matins for the feast of St Nicholas, C[onfessor Dei Nicholaus]

DECORATION: Historiated initial formed of pale pink acanthus on gold ground and surrounded by two-sided borders of acanthus, foliage and gold balls: [C] The Charity of St Nicholas, with signature: nicholau[s] d[e] bono[n]ia fecit.

Notes

History note: Captain Gilpin (nineteenth-century ownership inscription on previous frame); purchased from Frank T. Sabin by the Friends of the Fitzwilliam Museum and presented in 1915.

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1915) by The Friends of the Fitzwilliam Museum

Dating

14th Century, second half
Circa 1370 CE - Circa 1380 CE

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Historiated initial from an Antiphoner" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/176366 Accessed: 2025-12-05 06:19:17

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/176366 |title=Historiated initial from an Antiphoner |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-05 06:19:17|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:

https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-176366

Bootstrap HTML code for reuse

To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:

<div class="text-center">
    <figure class="figure">
        <img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/727/695/large_MS_278a_mas.jpg"
        alt="Historiated initial from an Antiphoner"
        class="img-fluid" />
        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Historiated initial from an Antiphoner</figcaption>
    </figure>
</div>

Sign up for updates

Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...

University of Cambridge Museums logo
Cambridge City Council logo
Arts Council England Logo
Research England logo