Skip to main content

Historiated initial from a Gradual: MS 5-1979

An image of Cutting (manuscript)

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

Object information

Current Location: In storage

Titles

Historiated initial from a Gradual

Maker(s)

Artist: Gherarducci, Don Silvestro dei
Artist: Canzoni, Maestro delle
Artist: Rosselli, Niccolo
Artist: Cenni, Cenni di Francesco di Ser

Entities

Categories

Description

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Parchment, 170 x 165 mm, initial 150 x 145 mm, mounted on cardboard.

CONTENTS: The initial D, pasted on cardboard, would have opened the Introit to the Mass for the feast of St Clement (23 November), Dicit dominus sermones mei.

DECORATION: Historiated initial in graded blue, orange, pale yellow and liquid gold with acanthus extensions on a ground of gold leaf: [D] St Clement holding a book and blessing.

Notes

History note: The initial belonged to a set of three choir books made for the Camaldolese Monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Florence: Corale 2 (Gradual), fol. 159; excised during the Napoleonic campaigns, 1797-1809; thereafter: J.H. Fitzhenry; Sir Thomas Ralph Merton (1888-1969), acquired by 1950; purchased by the Museum in 1979.

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bought (1979)

Dating

14th Century, second half
Circa 1370 CE - Circa 1375 CE

People, subjects and objects depicted

Project

  • Cambridge Illuminated

Materials used in production

Gold

Components of the work

Support composed of parchment

Techniques used in production

Illumination

References and bibliographic entries

Related exhibitions

Identification numbers

Accession number: MS 5-1979
Primary reference Number: 176559
Project ID: 3607
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Friday 17 May 2024 Last processed: Thursday 14 August 2025

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Manuscripts and Printed Books

Citation for print

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

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Historiated initial from a Gradual" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/176559 Accessed: 2025-12-05 06:18:12

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/176559 |title=Historiated initial from a Gradual |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-05 06:18:12|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-176559

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/727/759/large_MS_5_1979_mas.jpg"
        alt="Historiated initial from a Gradual"
        class="img-fluid" />
        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Historiated initial from a Gradual</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...