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All Saints in an Initial E or O
Martyrdom of Saint Agatha in an Initial D
The Trinity in an Initial B
Annunciation in an Initial M
Last Judgment in an Initial C
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This initial illustrates the antiphon for the Feast of the Ascension: Viri [ga]lile [i quid aspicitis in caelum?] ("Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up to heaven?").Inside the initial V, painted with a luminous gold ground, the Virgin is flanked by Saint Peter (left) and an unidentified apostle (right) who gaze toward the half-length figure of the blessing Christ. This miniature is a typical example of the production of the painter and illuminator Niccolò di Ser Sozzo. The author of a large body of manuscript illuminations in addition to several panel paintings, this artist was the leading miniaturist of Siena in the mid-fourteenth century.
Inscription: Recto: three 4-line staves (stave height 29 mm) with fragmentary text: "IRI/ lile." Verso: two lines of fragmentary text: "illum: ecce duo / xta illos i[n] vesti"
[Maggs Brothers, London (Maggs Brothers sale 1921, lot 92, pl. 49 [as the letter A, Italy, fourteenth centruy])]; [Leo S. Olschki, Florence]. Acquired by Robert Lehman from Olschki in 1924.
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