A Book of Hours
use of Rome, in Latin and French
c. 1440 - 1470
France, probably Paris
illuminated manuscript on parchment; 206 leaves, 3 full-page paintings
189 x 132 mm
This Book of Hours was made for a female owner. The prayers on folio 179 as well as the inserted suffrages to Saints Barbara, Katherine and Apollonia at the beginning of the manuscript, which are in the same hand as those at the end, are in the feminine. This, together with the exceptionally elegant miniature depicting Saint Barbara, clearly indicates that an early female owner either had a particular affinity to these saints or perhaps was named Barbara herself.
