Collection Online as of June 9, 2023

Leaf from a Book of Hours: Ape Hunting Wild Boars (recto)

c. 1500–1510

Part of a set. See all set records

France, Paris or Rouen, 16th century

Ink, tempera and liquid gold on vellum

Each leaf: 18.1 x 12.9 cm (7 1/8 x 5 1/16 in.)

The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection 2006.13.a

Location

115 Manuscripts & Textiles

Fun Fact

The ape and the wild boar symbolized vice in general and lust in particular during the Middle Ages.

Description

Following the psalms is the litany of saints, identified by the blue text reading Letania. This repetitive list proceeds through a hierarchy beginning with God the Father and continuing through many saints. From each individual, the reader could ask for forgiveness. This list was customizable, allowing the reader to include saints important to them or their family. Surrounding the text is a scene of an ape hunting wild boars, symbols of vice and lust, that could perhaps be from a fable or merely be amusing or diversionary.

Inscriptions

Inscription

Letania Kyrie eleyson. Christe eleison. Christe audi nos. Christe audi nos. Pater de caelis Deus, miserere nobis. Spiritus sancta Deus, miserere nobis. Sancta Trinitas unus Deus, miserere nobis. Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis. Sancta Dei genitrix, ON. Sancta virgo virginum. ON. Sancte Michael, ON. Sancte Gabriel ON. Sancte Raphael ON. Oes sancti angeli et archangeli…

Inscription Translation

Lord have mercy upon us. Christ have mercy upon us. Christ hear us. Christ hear us. God the Father of heaven, have mercy upon us. God the Son redeemer of the world, have mercy upon us. God the holy Ghost, have mercy upon us. Holy Trinity one God, have mercy upon us Holy Mary, pray for us. Holy Mother of God, pray for us. Holy Virgin of Virgins, pray for us. St. Michael, pray for us (now it uses an abbreviation of ON), St. Gabriel, St. Raphael, All the Holy Angels, and Archangels …

Inscription Remark

Litany of Saints

Provenance

[Sotheby's, London, 3 July 1984, lot 127]

[Graton and Graton, Evanston, Ill.]

-2006

Ms. Jeanne Miles Blackburn, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art

2006-

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Fliegel, Stephen N. The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection of Manuscript Illuminations. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1999. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 63, cat. no. 61 archive.org

Exhibition history

CMA, 19 December 1999 - 27 February 2000, The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection of Manuscript Illuminations, cat. 61, illus. p. 63.

The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection of Manuscript Illuminations. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 19, 1999-February 27, 2000).

The Medieval Top Seller: The Book of Hours (Gallery 115 rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 26, 2022-July 30, 2023).