[ENLUMINURE]. [CHOIR BOOK]. Set of 12 ornate initials from a choir book with square notated music, all from the same codex. Tempera and ink on parchment. Italy, Florence (?), circa 1450-1475. Dimensions variable, largest: 110 x 115 mm; smallest: 75 x 85 mm Good condition; traces of glue on the backs of the fragments. This set includes 5 Q initials and 7 I initials. These initials, painted red or blue, are enhanced by large-scale blue or red filigree decoration and ornamentation. These initials are reminiscent of those associated with manuscripts produced for the Badia Fiorentina, the church of Santa Maria Assuntanella, a Benedictine foundation in Florence later linked to the congregation of Sainte-Justine-de-Padoue in the 15th century. See for example 15 folios described and sold in London, Sotheby's, June 22, 1999, lot 83.

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