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Twenty six cuttings from a set of Choir Books: Marlay cutting Sp. 6-12

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Object information

Current Location: In storage

Titles

Twenty six cuttings from a set of Choir Books

Entities

Categories

Description

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Parchment, one or two four-line musical staves ruled in red ink and two or three lines with fragmentary words on reverse
Marlay cutting Sp. 6a 190 x 155 mm
Marlay cutting Sp. 6b 180 x 180 mm
Marlay cutting Sp. 7a 170 x 180 mm
Marlay cutting Sp. 7b 190 x 185 mm
Marlay cutting Sp. 8a 180 x 170 mm
Marlay cutting Sp. 8b 172 x 165 mm
Marlay cutting Sp. 9a 190 x 160 mm
Marlay cutting Sp. 9b 185 x 170 mm
Marlay cutting Sp. 10a 170 x 180 mm
Marlay cutting Sp. 10b 115 x 115 mm
Marlay cutting Sp. 10c 170 x 170 mm
Marlay cutting Sp. 11a 85 x 85 mm
Marlay cutting Sp. 11b 80 x 80 mm
Marlay cutting Sp. 11c 95 x 85 mm
Marlay cutting Sp. 11d 100 x 95 mm
Marlay cutting Sp. 11e 90 x 80 mm
Marlay cutting Sp. 11f 90 x 80 mm
Marlay cutting Sp. 11g 90 x 80 mm
Marlay cutting Sp. 12a 100 x 90 mm
Marlay cutting Sp. 12b 100 x 80 mm
Marlay cutting Sp. 12c 80 x 80 mm
Marlay cutting Sp. 12d 80 x 90 mm
Marlay cutting Sp. 12e 80 x 80 mm
Marlay cutting Sp. 12f 90 x 80 mm
Marlay cutting Sp. 12g 90 x 80 mm
Marlay cutting Sp. 12h 90 x 80 mm

DECORATION: Framed miniature [height of two musical staves and three text lines] of the Virgin and Child seated on the Crescent Moon and accompanied by cherubim, shaft of a one-line gold initial preserved on the right edge of the cutting (Marlay cutting Sp. 6a).

Eleven historiated initials, mostly in gold set in front of the scenes, which are enclosed within gold, moulded frames: Marlay cutting Sp. 7a [A] Adoration of the Magi; Marlay cutting Sp. 7b [H] Christ addressing twelve disciples in a landscape; Marlay cutting Sp. 8a [L] Bishop accompanied by accolites baptizing a young man, while a woman kneels in prayer; Marlay cutting Sp. 8b [C] Pentecost, with Virgin and two other women in centre; Marlay cutting Sp. 9a [A] Assumption of the Virgin; Marlay cutting Sp. 9b [A] Resurrection, with soldiers falling backwards as an Angel lifts the cover of the sarcophagus and Christ rises up on clouds; Marlay cutting Sp. 10a [V] Ascension; Marlay cutting Sp. 10b [P] Landscape with a house, a bridge and birds on the river; Marlay cutting Sp. 11d [N] Landscape with a figure striding across; Marlay cutting Sp. 12a [O] Landscape; Marlay cutting Sp. 12f [G] enclosing an angel seated on a marble throne, with canopy above, on gold ground with graded purple and blue acanthus and architectural mouldings.

ORNAMENTATION: Fourteen initials mostly shaped of acanthus on gold ground: Marlay cutting Sp. 6b [T] shaped of grey acanthus and positioned on a plinth covered with a tasselled cloth against gold ground with roses and blue, orange and mosaic gold acanthus; Marlay cutting Sp. 10c [C] formed of a band of fleurs-de-lis, filled with flowers and enclosed within a frame of fleur-de-lis on brown ground; Marlay cutting Sp. 11a [M] shaped of graded pink acanthus on gold ground with roses, foliage and antique mask; Marlay cutting Sp. 11b [P] shaped of graded grey acanthus on gold ground with pink acanthus and flowers; Marlay cutting Sp. 11c [O] shaped of graded grey acanthus on gold ground with acanthus and a winged cherub’s head; Marlay cutting Sp. 11e [G] shaped of graded pink acanthus on gold ground with grey acanthus; Marlay cutting Sp. 11f [Q] shaped of graded grey acanthus on gold ground with acanthus and moulded frame; Marlay cutting Sp. 11g [V] shaped of mosaic gold acanthus on gold ground with graded blue and grey acanthus; Marlay cutting Sp. 12b [S] in silver ink on gold ground with acanthus and architectural mouldings; Marlay cutting Sp. 12c [I] shaped of mosaic gold acanthus and surmounted by a winged cherub’s head on gold ground with graded blue acanthus; Marlay cutting Sp. 12d [C] shaped of graded grey acanthus on blue ground with gold leaf foliate ornament; Marlay cutting Sp. 12e [S] shaped of graded grey acanthus on gold ground with roses, acanthus and a human head; Marlay cutting Sp. 12g [D] in silver ink on gold ground with blue and mosaic godl acanthus and architectural mouldings; Marlay cutting Sp. 12h [V] shaped of graded grey acanthus on gold ground with acanthus, flowers, birds and a human head.

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1912) by Marlay, Charles Brinsley

Dating

17th Century, first half#
Circa 1600 CE - Circa 1650 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

Identification numbers

Accession number: Marlay cutting Sp. 6-12
Primary reference Number: 178375
Project ID: 1425
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Friday 15 January 2021 Last processed: Thursday 7 December 2023

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 (2024) "Twenty six cuttings from a set of Choir Books" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/178375 Accessed: 2024-04-26 15:27:23

Citation for Wikipedia

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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/178375 |title=Twenty six cuttings from a set of Choir Books |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-04-26 15:27:23|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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