The Book of Hours of Bonaparte Ghislieri

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his highly sophisticated Book of Hours was produced in 1503 at the behest of Bonaparte Ghislieri, a member of an important Bolognese family. In commissioning this codex Ghislieri wanted to bring together several of the most famous artists of the period, each one of whom was called upon to create a full-page miniature. The intention was to offer a sort of miniature anthology of the best that the Bologna school of illumination could produce in those years. We thus see a succession of works by the likes of Amico Aspertini with his Adoration of the Shepherds, Perugino with his Saint Sebastian, Costa with King David and his Lyre, Francia with his Saint Jerome and, probably, Matteo da Milano, to whom the Annunciation is attributed.

The admirable decoration forming the borders of the miniatures should also be mentioned, abounding in classical references, with several clear borrowings from the decoration of the Domus Aurea. Bologna was also the home of the scribe, Pierantonio Sallando, who taught grammar at the University of Bologna and was to become a famous professor of writing.

The codex passed from the Ghislieris to the Albani family of Urbino, where it is documented in the eighteenth century; the following century it reached England, where it was purchased by Henry Yates Thompson in 1897. Since 1941 it has been kept in the British Library.

Description of the work

• An unabridged reproduction of the codex cataloged as Yates Thompson Ms 29 in the British Library in London.
• The volume is composed of 274 pages, 145 x 207 mm.
• It is printed with a unique system featuring the use of powdered gold .
• The binding has been done entirely by hand .
• The cover is in kidskin featuring gold embossing applied dry.
• Intarsia featuring intertwined floral motifs with gold impression applied under heat and other colors bonded to silk satin in various hues.
• Two mountings in gold-plated silver with semi-precious stones in both the cover plates.
• In the center of the front place the Angel of the Annunciation and on the back plate the Virgin set into a silver frame.
• Corner guards and clasps in solid silver.
• Printed in 750 numbered and certified copies.
• The work is accompanied by a volume of exhaustive comments.

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