Book of Hours Leaf, Paris, circa 1470

A leaf from a manuscript Book of Hours, hand-written and illuminated by a workshop under the influence of Maitre Francois. The Latin text is written in a gothic book hand in brown and red ink on very fine animal vellum. The recto contains fifteen lines of text and is illuminated with two very nice initials of blue and red on burnished gold backgrounds. The recto features a miniature painting depicting the Annunciation to the Shepherds. The painting is enclosed in a border in full color and burnished gold bezants. Two birds inhabit the border, which is composed of wild flowers and acanthus, and highlighted with liquid gold.