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W.494, Lace Book of Marie de' Medici

Abstract

This Prayerbook was made for Marie de' Medici in the second quarter of the seventeenth century. Beyond its provenance as a personal book owned by the famous queen, it is exceptional for its intricately cut borders, which transform the parchment margins into lace. This effect was created using a technique known as "canivet," in which a small knife was used to cut ornate patterns into paper or parchment. An art form that flourished originally among nuns in France, Germany, and the Netherlands beginning in the sixteenth century, it was employed to exceptional effect in several manuscripts connected with Marie de' Medici. The Walters manuscript, made for her while she was regent of France, and wife of King Henry IV, contains twenty-eight miniatures, including original religious imagery as well as several later additions: a gouache portrait of the elderly queen, and nine small miniatures produced in Bruges ca. 1450 by an artist influenced by the Eyckian and Gold Scrolls styles prevalent at the time; the coat-of-arms of Marie de Medici, as well as her monogram. The Walters manuscript retains its original binding composed of mosaic inlays in green and black leather, as well as fine gilt pointillé foliate tooling, and a replica of the binding was created by Léon Gruel for Henry Walters on one of his seventeenth-century printed books (92.467) that also connects to Marie de' Medici.

Manuscript Description (in a new window) | TEI (XML format) | View at art.thewalters.org

Persistent URLs (PURLs)

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  • http://purl.thewalters.org/art/W.494/data
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    1. Upper board outside

      W.494, Upper board outside
    2. Upper board inside

      W.494, Upper board inside
    3. Front flyleaf i, r

      W.494, Front flyleaf i, r
    4. Front flyleaf i, v

      W.494, Front flyleaf i, v
    5. Front flyleaf ii, r

      W.494, Front flyleaf ii, r
    6. Front flyleaf ii, v

      W.494, Front flyleaf ii, v
    7. Front flyleaf iii, r

      W.494, Front flyleaf iii, r
    8. Front flyleaf iii, v

      W.494, Front flyleaf iii, v
    9. Front flyleaf iv, r

      W.494, Front flyleaf iv, r
    10. Front flyleaf iv, v

      W.494, Front flyleaf iv, v
    11. Front flyleaf v, r

      W.494, Front flyleaf v, r
    12. Front flyleaf v, v

      W.494, Front flyleaf v, v
    13. fol. 1r

      W.494, fol. 1r
    14. fol. 1v

      W.494, fol. 1v
    15. fol. 2r

      W.494, fol. 2r
    16. fol. 2v

      W.494, fol. 2v
    17. fol. 3r

      W.494, fol. 3r
    18. fol. 3v

      W.494, fol. 3v
    19. fol. 4r

      W.494, fol. 4r
    20. fol. 4v

      W.494, fol. 4v
    21. fol. 5r

      W.494, fol. 5r
    22. fol. 5v

      W.494, fol. 5v
    23. fol. 6r

      W.494, fol. 6r
    24. fol. 6v

      W.494, fol. 6v
    25. fol. 7r

      W.494, fol. 7r
    26. fol. 7v

      W.494, fol. 7v
    27. fol. 8r

      W.494, fol. 8r
    28. fol. 8v

      W.494, fol. 8v
    29. fol. 9r

      W.494, fol. 9r
    30. fol. 9v

      W.494, fol. 9v
    31. fol. 10r

      W.494, fol. 10r
    32. fol. 10v

      W.494, fol. 10v
    33. fol. 11r

      W.494, fol. 11r
    34. fol. 11v

      W.494, fol. 11v
    35. fol. 12r

      W.494, fol. 12r
    36. fol. 12v

      W.494, fol. 12v
    37. fol. 13r

      W.494, fol. 13r
    38. fol. 13v

      W.494, fol. 13v
    39. fol. 14r

      W.494, fol. 14r
    40. fol. 14v

      W.494, fol. 14v
    41. fol. 15r

      W.494, fol. 15r
    42. fol. 15v

      W.494, fol. 15v
    43. fol. 16r

      W.494, fol. 16r
    44. fol. 16v

      W.494, fol. 16v
    45. fol. 17r

      W.494, fol. 17r
    46. fol. 17v

      W.494, fol. 17v
    47. fol. 18r

      W.494, fol. 18r
    48. fol. 18v

      W.494, fol. 18v
    49. fol. 19r

      W.494, fol. 19r
    50. fol. 19v

      W.494, fol. 19v
    51. fol. 20r

      W.494, fol. 20r
    52. fol. 20v

      W.494, fol. 20v
    53. fol. 21r

      W.494, fol. 21r
    54. fol. 21v

      W.494, fol. 21v
    55. fol. 22r

      W.494, fol. 22r
    56. fol. 22v

      W.494, fol. 22v
    57. fol. 23r

      W.494, fol. 23r
    58. fol. 23v

      W.494, fol. 23v
    59. fol. 24r

      W.494, fol. 24r
    60. fol. 24v

      W.494, fol. 24v
    61. fol. 25r

      W.494, fol. 25r
    62. fol. 25v

      W.494, fol. 25v
    63. fol. 26r

      W.494, fol. 26r
    64. fol. 26v

      W.494, fol. 26v
    65. fol. 27r

      W.494, fol. 27r
    66. fol. 27v

      W.494, fol. 27v
    67. fol. 28r

      W.494, fol. 28r
    68. fol. 28v

      W.494, fol. 28v
    69. fol. 29r

      W.494, fol. 29r
    70. fol. 29v

      W.494, fol. 29v
    71. fol. 30r

      W.494, fol. 30r
    72. fol. 30v

      W.494, fol. 30v
    73. fol. 31r

      W.494, fol. 31r
    74. fol. 31v

      W.494, fol. 31v
    75. fol. 32r

      W.494, fol. 32r
    76. fol. 32v

      W.494, fol. 32v
    77. fol. 33r

      W.494, fol. 33r
    78. fol. 33v

      W.494, fol. 33v
    79. fol. 34r

      W.494, fol. 34r
    80. fol. 34v

      W.494, fol. 34v
    81. fol. 35r

      W.494, fol. 35r
    82. fol. 35v

      W.494, fol. 35v
    83. fol. 36r

      W.494, fol. 36r
    84. fol. 36v

      W.494, fol. 36v
    85. fol. 37r

      W.494, fol. 37r
    86. fol. 37v

      W.494, fol. 37v
    87. fol. 38r

      W.494, fol. 38r
    88. fol. 38v

      W.494, fol. 38v
    89. fol. 39r

      W.494, fol. 39r
    90. fol. 39v

      W.494, fol. 39v
    91. fol. 40r

      W.494, fol. 40r
    92. fol. 40v

      W.494, fol. 40v
    93. fol. 41r

      W.494, fol. 41r
    94. fol. 41v

      W.494, fol. 41v
    95. fol. 42r

      W.494, fol. 42r
    96. fol. 42v

      W.494, fol. 42v
    97. fol. 43r

      W.494, fol. 43r
    98. fol. 43v

      W.494, fol. 43v
    99. fol. 44r

      W.494, fol. 44r
    100. fol. 44v

      W.494, fol. 44v
    101. fol. 45r

      W.494, fol. 45r
    102. fol. 45v

      W.494, fol. 45v
    103. fol. 46r

      W.494, fol. 46r
    104. fol. 46v

      W.494, fol. 46v
    105. fol. 47r

      W.494, fol. 47r
    106. fol. 47v

      W.494, fol. 47v
    107. fol. 48r

      W.494, fol. 48r
    108. fol. 48v

      W.494, fol. 48v
    109. fol. 49r

      W.494, fol. 49r
    110. fol. 49v

      W.494, fol. 49v
    111. fol. 50r

      W.494, fol. 50r
    112. fol. 50v

      W.494, fol. 50v
    113. fol. 51r

      W.494, fol. 51r
    114. fol. 51v

      W.494, fol. 51v
    115. fol. 52r

      W.494, fol. 52r
    116. fol. 52v

      W.494, fol. 52v
    117. Back flyleaf i, r

      W.494, Back flyleaf i, r
    118. Back flyleaf i, v

      W.494, Back flyleaf i, v
    119. Back flyleaf ii, r

      W.494, Back flyleaf ii, r
    120. Back flyleaf ii, v

      W.494, Back flyleaf ii, v
    121. Back flyleaf iii, r

      W.494, Back flyleaf iii,  r
    122. Back flyleaf iii, v

      W.494, Back flyleaf iii, v
    123. Lower board inside

      W.494, Lower board inside
    124. Lower board outside

      W.494, Lower board outside
    125. Spine

      W.494, Spine
    126. Fore-edge

      W.494, Fore-edge
    127. Head

      W.494, Head
    128. Tail

      W.494, Tail

    All images listed on this page are of books and manuscripts from private collections and were imaged at the Walters Art Museum. Unless otherwise indicated all images and associated data linked to from this page are released for free under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license for anyone who wants to use them.