Gospel Book of Aachen Cathedral, Antique Chromolithograph, 1849

A tenth century miniature in two registers against a burnished gold ground: Christ enthroned in the upper half with the four evangelist symbols at the corners and a scroll unfurling across his knees, and below him a row of standing figures in red, blue and white. The sheet is lettered as the evangeliary from the treasury of the cathedral of Aix la Chapelle, that is Aachen, the church of Charlemagne.

Paul Lacroix, the bibliophile who wrote under the name Le Bibliophile Jacob, and the artist Ferdinand Sere produced Le Moyen Age et la Renaissance in Paris between 1848 and 1851. The present sheet is from Tome Second of 1849. The volume is remembered for the quality of its chromolithography, much of it printed by Lemercier of the rue de Seine, and for the care with which its draughtsmen copied originals that in several cases have since been damaged or lost.

The Aachen treasury is one of the richest in Europe and its books were made for the imperial coronation church itself, so the provenance is about as good as medieval manuscript provenance gets. The massed gold and the strong red make this one of the two or three most decorative sheets in the volume, and it is strong enough to hang on its own above a fireplace.

Even age toning. Marked handling soiling along the bottom, right and top edges. A few small foxing spots in the margin. All four corners complete.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.