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Historiated initial from an Antiphoner or Gradual
Artist: Libri, Girolamo dai
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Parchment, 200 x 211 mm , reverse side obscured by paper mounts, traces of musical staves ruled in red ink and fragmentary text with ruling in brown ink on recto.
CONTENTS: The initial probably introduced the text Viri Galilei, quid admiramini aspicientes in caelum? (Acts 1: 11), either the introit for the Feast of the Ascension, or the first antiphon at Lauds for the same feast.
DECORATION: Historiated initial formed of complex foliate motifs with masks on a ground of solid gold: [V] Ascension.
History note: Possibly from the collection of Pierre-Henri Gélis-Didot (1853-1902); not yet identified in the multi-part lots in his sale, Paris 12-13 April 1897
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1912) by Marlay, Charles Brinsley
15th Century, Late
Production date:
circa
AD 1490
Support composed of parchment
Accession number: Marlay cutting It. 65
Primary reference Number: 176619
Project ID: 1410
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Manuscripts and Printed Books
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Historiated initial from an Antiphoner or Gradual" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/176619 Accessed: 2025-12-05 06:19:27
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/176619
|title=Historiated initial from an Antiphoner or Gradual
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-05 06:19:27|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-176619
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/660/179/large_Marlay_cutting_It__65_mas.jpg"
alt="Historiated initial from an Antiphoner or Gradual"
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<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Historiated initial from an Antiphoner or Gradual</figcaption>
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