Historiated Initial from the Bible of Souvigny, Antique Print, 1849

A great initial that has been opened up to hold a scene: inside the bowl of the letter a bearded patriarch sits enthroned with a crowd of small figures below him, their faces packed shoulder to shoulder, and blue columns of display capitals run down the sheet beside it. The lettering names it as a thirteenth century historiated capital from the Bible known as the Bible of Souvigny, in the library at Moulins.

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 Souvigny Bible is the treasure of the Moulins library and one of the great Romanesque Bibles of France, so the plate carries a named and locatable original. Historiated initials, where the letter becomes a little stage, are the form of illumination that collectors ask for most often. The upright format frames neatly and suits a narrow space. The blue columns of display capitals beside the initial give the sheet a second element of design that most of the single initial plates lack, and they balance the heavy letter well. Jolimont, who drew it, was an antiquarian draughtsman who spent his career recording French medieval monuments before they were restored or lost.

Even age toning. Handling soiling along the bottom, right and top edges. Scattered foxing in the margin. All four corners complete.

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