[In Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment. - Lot 25

[In Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment. Italy, Florence ? circa 1440-1460 and 19th century. 36 ff., preceded by a flyleaf, lacunar manuscript, loosely bound, rounded Italian liturgical script, advertisements (ff. 8v, 18v, 19v, 29v), illuminated borders on four sides of the frontispiece leaf, ornate initial R on a blue background, borders with fine penciled foliage, gold besants and lozenges, colored floral motifs, coat of arms flanked by a swan and a bear, illumination set in illuminated borders of the same type (see below) [the decoration appears to have been added a posteriori on the basis of a Quattrocento manuscript]. Bound in full soft vellum, smooth spine, gilt edges. Dimensions: 138 x 95 mm Text: incipit: "Responde michi quantas habeo iniquitates..."; long heading on ff. 16v-17: "Supra scriptum responsorium tantummodo dicitur in loco suo cum fit pro defunctis vigilia trium lectionum vel nonem sine nota..."; explicit, "[...] Requiem eternam dona eis domine. R. Et lux perpetua luceat eis. Requiescant in pace. R. Amen. Finis". Illustration: Fol. 1: Illuminated frontispiece frame, coat of arms (unidentified) painted in the lower margin, flanked by a swan and a bear "issant". In view of the palette, with the coat of arms showing colors that are not part of the traditional heraldic colors, it seems to us that this frontispiece was painted in a pastiche style in the 19th century. It is possible that the original 15th-century manuscript was the only text of the Office funèbre - perhaps a fragment of a Book of Hours - with an elaborate decoration of filigree initials - Fol. 32: Virgin and Child, flanked on either side by two nimbed children or angels (?). The Virgin wears a green dress and a large orange cape strewn with stars. This miniature has text on the back, but was painted on a blank reverse in the 19th century. The manuscript is unbound and this leaf is mounted on a mitre, probably as a devotional image. The miniature is set in an illuminated frame. Provenance: 1. Manuscript copied in Italy on stylistic grounds. An Italian origin is suggested by the illuminated decoration on fol. 1 (but it may be a pastiche decoration in imitation of Quattrocento manuscripts) and the beautiful watermarked initials in red or blue ink, all from the 15th century and whose style betrays a Florentine influence. 2. Leonida Leonetti's ex-libris vignette pasted on the upper flyleaf: "Lungo studio e grande amore. Ex libris Leonida Leonetti". Leonida Leonetti (1857-1930) was born in Capua and was an important collector, particularly of Dante (hence her bookplate with Dante's profile). His Dante collection was sold to the city of Ravenna in 1905 by the bookseller Leo Olschki. 3. Inscription in ink on fol. 36: "Paolo Felti" (?).