The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 13, 2025

Annunciation to the Shepherds: Leaf from a Book of Hours (1 of 6 Excised Leaves)

c. 1420–30

Henri d'Orquevaulx

(French)

or Workshop

France, Metz, 15th century
ink, tempera, and gold on vellum
Each leaf: 16.1 x 12.4 cm (6 5/16 x 4 7/8 in.)
The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection 1999.128
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Books of hours were devotional books popular in the Middle Ages and meant for laypeople, or those not in the clergy.

Description

This leaf survives from what must have been an extraordinarily rich book of hours. The elaborate Passion cycle and Suffrages point to an important patron. Internal evidence within the original calendar and texts indicates that Metz was the probable place of production. Stylistically, the illuminations appear to come from the workshop of Henri d’Orquevaulx, a documented Metz manuscript painter. Compositionally, structurally, and stylistically, the miniatures suggest strong links to Netherlandish illumination. It is not known whether d’Orquevaulx came originally from the Netherlands or whether he simply worked or trained there at some point in his career.
  • before 1539 - after 1541
    Jehan de Poncy (d. 1605) and his wife, Marguerite
    Bartlett Gurney (1756-1803), Norwich, England, bequeathed to his aunt Catherine Gurney
    -1808
    Catherine Gurney (1776–1850), Norwich, England, gifted to Rev. Edward Edwards
    1808-
    Rev. Edward Edwards (1766-1849), Lynn, Norfolk, bequeathed to his godson William Hay Gurney, nephew of Catherine Gurney
    William Hay Gurney (1827-1898), North Princeton
    April 7, 1978
    Sale: Christie's New York, April 7, 1978, Lot 226
    [Bruce Ferrini (1950-2010), Akron, OH, sold to Jeanne Miles Blackburn]
    -1999
    Ms. Jeanne Miles Blackburn, Maitland, Fl, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1999-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Christie, Manson & Woods International Inc. Printed Books and Manuscripts Including an Important Manuscript Map of Southeastern North America, 1721. 1978. Lot 226
    Fliegel, Stephen N. The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection of Manuscript Illuminations. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1999. Mentioned: p. 37; Reproduced: p. 39, cat. no. 31 archive.org
  • The Medieval Top Seller: The Book of Hours. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 26, 2022-July 30, 2023).
    The Glory of the Painted Page: Manuscript Illuminations from the Permanent Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 6, 2010-April 17, 2011).
    Illuminated Manuscripts. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (October 10, 2004-October 2, 2005).
    The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection of Manuscript Illuminations. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 19, 1999-February 27, 2000).
  • {{cite web|title=Annunciation to the Shepherds: Leaf from a Book of Hours (1 of 6 Excised Leaves)|url=false|author=Henri d'Orquevaulx, Workshop|year=c. 1420–30|access-date=13 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1999.128