[Berlin, Staatsbibliothek Preuß. Kulturbesitz, Kupferstichkabinett, 78 D 12]
Tablas de las constelaciones de Alfonso X el Sabio.
Valencia: Patrimonio Ediciones, 2006. 24 x 38 cm, 100 pp + commentary.

A catalogue of stars, constellation by constellation, based on the astronomy of Ptolemy as edited by King Alfonso of Castile. Known as the “Alfonsine Tables”, it was once considered a translation, however new research has identified it as an original Alfonsine work, widely disseminated throughout Europe as of the 1320s. It is the first European MS to cite the Andromeda Nebula, unknown by Ptolemy. Alfonso X stands out in history as the patron of the first European program of investigation in applied astronomy. The analysis of his body of work makes sense only if one considers that the monarch was interested in this science due to its practical applications (astrology and talismanic magic) and did not attempt to cultivate it as a pure science. The Ms includes 50 full-page miniatures adorned with gold and silver. Limited edition of 999 numbered copies bound in leather over wooden boards. €3700   

[Boston, Public Library; Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum]
Rosario de Juana la Loca, s.XVI.
Valencia: Patrimonio Ediciones, 2004. 9 x 11 cm, 40 pp + commentary.

This facsimile reunites two parts of this codex, now divided between the US and the UK. It has 15 full-page miniatures and 15 decorated borders, all executed by Simon Bening, one of the most prestigious painters and illuminators of the time. The MS, made up of the 15 prayers that are based on the 15 mysteries of the Virgin, was commissioned by the Queen of Castile, Joanna the Mad. Limited edition of 999 copies. €2500   

[Brussels, Bibl. Royale Albert I, iv 90]
Cancionero de Juana I de Castilla. Bibliothèque Royale de Belgique, Bruselas. Siglo XVI. [title of commentary:] Cancionero de Juana la Loca. La música en la corte de Felipe el Hermoso y Juana i de Castilla / Song Book of Joan the Mad / Das Liederbuch Johannas der Wahnsinnigen.
Valencia: Patrimonio Ediciones, 2006. Oblong, 11 x 9 cm, 60, 359 pp, 1 audio CD.

This lovely Burgundian chansonnier, one of the smallest complete collections of the time, created around 1511, consists of 56 pages of polyphonic music with Latin, French and Flemish texts by leading Netherlandish composers. Its 54 miniatures, made up of delightful little dramatic scenes, botanical designs, or emblema in the style of the Ghent-Bruges school of book illumination, have been linked to the atelier of the prestigious artist Alexander Bening (father of Simon Bening). The book lacks an heraldic device but this in no way rules out an almost certain noble connection as its illuminations belong to a group of books of hours that include the Hours of Joanna of Castile (London, BL, add. 18852). Although the songbook was originally comprised of 4 separate partbooks—superius, alto, tenor, bassus—the bassus partbook is now lost, and the altus (=Bibl. Royal Albert I, ms. iv 1274 ) and tenor (=Bibl. Tournai, ms. 94) are incomplete and less well preserved. The surviving superius part, reproduced for this deluxe facsimile edition, still has its early 16th-c. leather binding decorated with animal figures and vines; it is the work of Lodovicus Bloc, a master bookbinder active in Bruges 1484-1529, credited with binding numerous books for Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. Contents: 22 songs without attributions; concordances allow us positive identification of most of the composers—Compère (4), Josquin (4), Obrecht, Ockeghem, de la Rue, Agricola, Barbireau, Busnois, Japart, Pipelare, Hayne van Ghizighem (2), Ninot le Petit, and Isaac. Musicological commentary by Honey Meconi, modern transcriptions by Miguel Ángel Picó, and an essay on the making of a codex by José Aspas Romano (texts in Sp-Eng-Ger). Limited edition of 999 copies, bound in full leather with gold, tooling, and leather ties, after the original. Please call for special OMI price. €2800    (more info... )

[Brussels, Bibl. Royale Albert I, iv 480]
Libro de horas de Alejandro VI “Papa Borgia”, s.XV.
Valencia: Patrimonio Ediciones, 2004. 13.5 x 18.5 cm, 84 pp + commentary.

Illustrated by Gerard David, Gerard Horenbout and others, this masterpiece of Flemish art came about as a commission of Rodrigo Borgia (also known as “Papa Borgia”). The book of hours contains an enormous number of decorations in the margins: flowers, animals, fruits, architectural motifs, and vividly colored religious medallions. Limited edition of 999 copies. €4800   

[Cambridge (MA), Fogg Art Musuem; Rotterdam, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen]
Pasionario púrpura de Fra Angelico.
Valencia: Patrimonio Ediciones, 2007. 8 x 10 cm. 24 pp + commentary.

This unusual MS—executed as its name implies in purple hues—features illuminations by master Italian painter Fra Angelico. The facsimile edition reunites parts of the codex now preserved at two different locations (Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Massachussetts, & Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam). Fra Angelico, or Beato Angelico, is considered one of the most refined and spiritual artists of his day. In the art of the miniature he practiced a style that was particularly linked with the late gothic heading towards the Renaissance: abstract, luminous and dazzling although greatly restrained internally. Limited edition of 999 copies. €1400   

[Escorial, Biblioteca del Monasterio, vitr. 2]
Libro de horas de Felipe II, s.XVI.
Valencia: Patrimonio Ediciones, 1996. 21.5 x 30.5 cm, 320 pp + commentary.

Executed in the scriptorium of the Royal Monastery of El Escorial, this lovely MS was written and illuminated by the friars Andres de León, Julián de la Fuente el Saz and Martín de Palencia who were inspired by the Italian mannerist style of Giulio Clovio. Limited edition of 979 copies. €3100   

[Florence, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, plut. 73. 16]
Códice sobre medicamentos de Federico II, s.XIII.
Valencia: Patrimonio Ediciones, 2002. 11.5 x 17.6 cm, 460 pp + commentary.

A beautiful miscellany of medical advice (with 510 miniatures in the Mesopotamian-Byzantine style) culled from the “Herbal” of Pseudo-Apuleius, the “Medicinis ex libris feminis et masculinis” by Pseudo-Dioscourides, and other sources. The illuminations depict plants and animals and the methods of healing described, the doctors, their patients, and even the buildings in which the illnesses were treated. Limited edition of 999 copies. €4100   

[Florence, Biblioteca Riccardiana, Ricc. 2669]
Tratado de aritmética de Lorenzo el Magnifico, s.XV.
Valencia: Patrimonio Ediciones, 2002. 12 x 17 cm, 240 pp + commentary.

This codex, with 230 miniatures by the Spanish master Pedro Berruguete, court painter to Queen Joanna the Mad and King Philip the Handsome, and by the workshop of Sandro Botticelli, was commissioned by Lorenzo de Medici for the education of his son Giovanni in the arts of banking and commerce. Giovanni later became Pope Leo X. Limited edition of 999 copies. €3700   

[Lisbon, Archivo Nacional de la Torre do Tombe, Cod. 160]
Beato de Liébana. Lorvao, s.XII.
Valencia: Patrimonio Ediciones, 2003. 24.5 x 34.5 cm, 460 pp + commentary.

Portuguese MS dated 1189 and copied by the scribe Egeas in the Abbey of San Mamede in Lorvao. It contains 88 miniatures and displays a style based on line-drawing and a great degree of abstraction. Limited edition of 999 copies. €6000   

[Madrid, Bibl. Nacional, vitr. 25-5; Berlin, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin; Philadelphia Museum of Art]
Libro de horas de los reyes Católicos.
Valencia: Patrimonio Ediciones, 2009. 11 x 15 cm, 650 pp + commentary.

This codex, also known as Voustre Demeure, appears to have been presented to Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain by the Emperor Maximilian, on the occasion of the double marriage of their children, Margaret and Philip, to the Spanish rulers’ offspring, John and Joan. The facsimile edition represents the restoration of the book’s original composition, bringing together folios currently found in the collections of the Biblioteca Nacional in Madrid, the Staatliche Museen, Berlin and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The MS consists of 650 pages, every one illustrated and illuminated in gold and silver by master Flemish painters. Altogether there are 87 large-format miniatures and 583 pages embellished with quarter-page decorations in which a variety of animals, plants and insects are represented. Stylistically the work points to the master credited with the Book of Hours of Marie of Burgundy, the master of the Dresden prayer book, Lieven van Lathem, Nicolas Spierinc and Simon Marmion, praised for their mastery of trompe-l’oeil effects in the ornamental borders of the books they illuminated, a lavish hand with decorative elements and the large number of extremely sophisticated iconographic resources they brought to their tasks. All of these aspects make this book of hours one of the most significant works of art produced during the waning of the Middle Ages. Commentary by Eberhard König. €7500    (more info... )

[Manchester, John Rylands University Library, lat. 8]
Beato de Liébana. Manchester, s.XII. [Commentary:] Peter K. Klein: “Beato de Liébana, La ilustración de los manuscritos de Beato y el códice de Manchester”.
Valencia: Patrimonio Ediciones, 2001. 31.5 x 45 cm, 510 pp + 322.

This codex has 123 very large miniatures, mainly whole pages and is considered the most lavishly illustrated Beatus. The Manchester Beatus was taken from Spain to France in 1869 and was later sold in an auction in Paris together with other books from the collection of the Marquis of Astorga and Count of Altamira. Limited edition of 999 copies. €7200    (more info... )

[New York, Jewish Theological Seminary]
Prato Haggadah.
Valencia: Patrimonio Ediciones, 2006. 14 x 21 cm, 160 pp + commentary.

The Prato Haggadah (Spain, c.1300) is an unfinished illuminated MS of 85 leaves, written on fine calf parchment. Fols. 1–53 are written in a square Sephardic script and fols. 54–68 are written in a square Italo-Ashkenazic script, using a different ink. The illumination of 30 pages is virtually complete. 58 are unfinished, with preparatory drawings and possibly some gesso and color, 50 have text only and the remaining pages are blank. Many of the pages have illuminated initial word panels, comparable to illuminated initials in Christian or secular manuscripts. Throughout, illustrations accompany the text, such as the depiction of the four sons, and illustrations of matza and maror (bitter herbs). Preparatory drawings depicting the story of Noah and the flood appear at the end of the manuscript. Margins are replete with fanciful drawings of hybrid creatures, imaginary birds, drolleries and climbing vines. The codex is especially fascinating because it demonstrates the making of a manuscript in the Middle Ages, enabling us to view its illumination after the text was written: the preparatory drawings, the laying down of gesso in order to cushion the gold leaf, the application of gold and silver leaf, and ultimately the application of pigments. The skill of the artist is of a very high order, both in the preparatory drawings and in the completed pages, whose brilliant colors look as fresh today as when they were applied. (adapted from description by JTS). Limited edition of 100 copies. €5000   

[Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, allem. 113]
Splendor solis. Tratado de alquimia.
Valencia: Patrimonio Ediciones, 2009. 21 x 30 cm. 100 pp + commentary.

The Splendor Solis, an important treatise on alchemy written at the dawn of modern science, consists of text accompanied by a series of 22 elaborate images set in ornamental borders and niches similar in style to the decorative borders used in book of hours of the period. The book's symbolic process follows the alchemical death and rebirth of the King, followed by a series of 7 flasks, each associated with one of the planets. Within the flasks a process is shown involving the transformation of bird and animal symbols into the Queen and King, represented by white and red pigment. Elements of the work can be found in the Pretiossisimum Donum Dei sequence (15th c.) and the writings of Saloman Trismosin, possibly the teacher of Paracelsus. MS allem. 113 of the Bibliothèque Nationale—the basis of this deluxe facsimile edition—is a beautiful parchment manuscript of 50 folios, sumptuously illuminated in gold and silver; the MS is one of just seven early surviving mss sources of this fascinating text. List of illuminations: 1) The Arms of the art; 2) Philosopher with flask; 3) The Knight on the double fountain; 4) Solar King and Lunar Queen meet; 5) Miners excavating hill; 6) Philosophers beside tree; 7) Drowning King; 8) Ressurrection out of the swamp; 9) Hermaphrodite with egg; 10) Severing the head of the King; 11) Boiling the body in the vessel; 12) Saturn – Dragon and child; 13) Jupiter – Three birds; 14) Mars – Triple-headed bird; 15) Sun – Triple-headed dragon; 16) Venus – Peacock's Tail; 17) Mercury – The White Queen; 18) Moon – The Red King; 19) The dark sun; 20) Children at play; 21) Women washing clothes; 22) Sun rising over the city. Limited edition of 999 copies. €4000   

[Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, fr. 166]
Biblia moralizada de los Limbourg.
Valencia: Patrimonio Ediciones, 2010. 29 x 41.5 cm.

The Dukes of Berry and Burgundy were the patrons of the Limbourg Brothers, the most important book illuminators of the 15th century and precursors of Jan van Eyck. Their influence on book illumination was felt in all of Northern Europe. From surviving documents it is known that in February 1402 Paul and Johan Limbourg were contracted by Philip to work for four years exclusively on illuminating a bible. This may or may not have been the Bible Moralisée, Ms. fr. 166 in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, which art art historians consider an early work by the Limbourg brothers. With 800 illustrations in a single codex, 513 miniatures by the Limbourg Brothers illuminated with gold and silver (plus 287 illustrations by Jean Fouquet and other outstanding artists), the “Bible moralisée” is the most abundantly illustrated manuscript of the Limbourg Brothers. €7000   

[Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, lat. 919; Musée du Louvre, R.F. 2835]
Grandes horas del duque de Berry.
Valencia: Patrimonio Ediciones, 2012 30 x 40 cm, 252 pp + commentary.

Special subscription price (reg. €12,900). €10000   

[Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, nouv. acq. lat. 2334]
Biblia de Tours. Ashburnham Pentateuch.
Valencia: Patrimonio Ediciones, 2003. 32.5 x 37.5 cm, 300 pp + commentary.

This precious MS, one of the most beautiful codices of the medieval western world, is the oldest illustrated Bible. The ms dates from the seventh century and bears a close relation to other Spanish biblical texts of the time. It is believed that the text could have been copied in Spain and the illuminations–63 large and magnificent miniatures–were executed by an artist trained in Byzantium. The illustrations of the Bible served as a model for the Beato de Liébana iconography. Limited edition of 999 copies. €7200   

[Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, suppl. turc. 190]
Mi’ragnama. Apocalipsis de Mahoma.
Valencia: Patrimonio Ediciones, 2008. 24.5 x 35.5 cm. 70 pp + commentary.

Conserved in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris under the siglum Suppl. Turc. 190 "Mi'ragnama – The apocalypse of Mohamed" is a masterpiece of Mimurid style, produced in 1436 in Herat in the north of modern day Afghanistan. It describes the adventures of the prophet Mohamed’s journey through the celestial sphere, in the company of the Archangel Gabriel, to arrive before the throne of God and his subsequent return trip to Earth through the seven circles of Hell. In medieval Europe the work became known through the Latin translation that Alfonso the Wise commissioned from the school of translators in Toledo, which, in the judgment of some experts, may have inspired Dante’s Divine Comedy. Islamic culture produced books on par with those of the west and created numerous art works of impressive beauty. In Persia, the perfect fusion of the Arab school and the Buddhist art of India and China produced the Timurid style. Timur’s son—Tamerlane, the Shah Ruj—transferred the capital from Samarkand, where his father lived, to Herat and promoted a style of illumination characterized by a realism that surpassed the typical stylization of Islam and resulted in a fascinating pictorial drama. The even rhythm of the miniatures, masterfully balanced, brought about a pivotal moment in early 15th-century Persian art. The magic that inspires the Chinese-influenced design of these compositions of harmonious movement imparts to the art of the Persian miniature an excellence that, along with its exquisite palette, converts its illustrations into treasures of world art. Limited edition of 999 numbered examples bound in leather and fire-engraved gold. €4800   

[Simancas, Archivo General, Leg. 258, fol. 488]
Tratado de arquitectura y máquinas de Juan de Herrera, s.XVI.
Valencia: Patrimonio Ediciones, 1996.

The only autograph treatise by the architect who built most of the Monastery of El Escorial. It concentrates on the principles of motion for the cranes that were used in the erection of the monastery. With commentary by Luis Cervera Vera. €500   

[Venice, Bibl. Naz. Marciana, gr. z. 479 (=881), Oppiano. Cynegetica]
Tratado de caza y pesca. Oppiano. Cynegetica.
Valencia: Patrimonio Ediciones, 1999. 23.5 x 19 cm, 150 pp + commentary.

Didactic poem about the techniques of hunting with hounds, written in the 3rd century by Oppiano of Apamea in Syria, for the Roman emperor Caracalla. It contains the most extensive illustrative scheme of the late Macedonian age. The ms, written in Greek minuscule and decorated with miniatures in Byzantine style, comes from 11th c. Constantinople. Limited edition of 999 copies. €2400    (more info... )

[Seville]
Privilegios de Carlos V, s.XVI. [Seville, Archivo General de Indias, I-5-99]
Valencia: Patrimonio Ediciones, 2001. 27 x 36.2 cm, 12 pp.

Document from the Emperor and King Charles I ordering the Royal Chancery of Granada to respect the traditional judicial privileges of the city of Seville. Dated Valladolid, 16th July 1549. Limited edition of 450 copies. €900