Kálmáncsehi-Liechtenstein Codex
This gorgeously illuminated breviary dated 1481 was created in the workshop of the Corvina Library for Domonkos Kálmáncsehi (1432–1503), Grand Provost of St. Mary's Companion Chapel of Székesfehérvár, Hungary between 1474 and 1495. In the years after he became the Bishop of Oradea, Transylvania, and Kalocsa and in addition to his ecclesiastical role, he also played an active role at the royal court and was entrusted with financial and diplomatic duties. His coat of arms – a shield with a lion and a star of six points crowned by a miter – is depicted six times in the manuscript as a roundel at the bottom of the page, usually embedded in a decorative border. Altogether, the rich décor of the manuscript includes a calendar featuring decorative initials painted green, pink, blue, and gold, a full-page miniature of the Crucifixion, 54 decorative borders – seven of them historiated with animals and people – with floral motifs, vases, etc., 18 roundels and medallion miniatures, and 48 historiated initials as well as hundreds of other decorative initials.
Kálmáncsehi-Liechtenstein Codex
During the reign of King Matthias Corvinus (1443–1490), the humanist culture spread in Hungary, both at the royal court and in ecclesiastical circles. The *Kálmáncsehi Breviary** can be understood as a part of this development. It was completed in 1481 in the Buda workshop of the Corvina Library for Domonkos Kálmáncsehi (1432–1503), as evidenced by the colophon and the coat of arms of the ecclesiastical patron that is integrated into the book decoration six times. The latter shows the profile of a red lion above a six-pointed star on a blue and gold background. The coat of arms, which is usually embedded in the decorated borders of the pages, is additionally crowned by a mitre and a stole - symbols of Kálmáncsehi's episcopal dignity.
Artistic Splendor for a Mighty Prince of the Church
Domonkos Kálmáncsehi actually came from a peasant family from the Kálmánča region and ascended to the nobility through his academic education. He first became canon of Székesfehérvár in Hungary, where he held the office of Grand Provost of St. Mary's Companion Chapel between 1474 and 1495. He was then elevated to Bishop of Oradea and Transylvania and finally received the office of the Archbishop of Kalocsa a year before his death. In addition to his ecclesiastical role, he was also actively involved in the royal court and was entrusted with financial and diplomatic duties, making him one of the most powerful figures in Hungary at the time.
Breviary and Missal
The codex, written in a careful, two-column textura, comprises two liturgical books: a breviary and a missal, preceded by a twelve-page calendar. While the breviary served the patron in the reading of the Liturgy of the Hours, the missal describes the liturgy of the Eucharist on Sundays, feast days and weekdays. The fact that the codex combines both books indicates that Kálmáncsehi may have used it on his travels.
Splendid Illumination from Buda
The liturgical texts were richly illuminated under the direction of the gifted book illuminator Francesco da Castello, who led the royal scriptorium in Buda. The opulent decoration consists of a full-page miniature showing the crucifixion and hundreds of beautiful decorated initials, 48 of which were artfully historiated, i.e. provided with figurative scenes. In addition, there are 54 fantastical borders, which often enclose (almost) the entire page and are formed from intertwined flower tendrils and vases. Some of them also show animal and human figures and surround a total of 18 medallion miniatures. The calendar is also adorned with beautiful, gold-decorated initial ligatures and floral tendrils.
Provenance
After the trace of the precious manuscript was lost after Kálmáncsehi's death, it reappeared in historical documents in 1782 in the Cistercian Abbey of Viktring in present-day Carinthia, Austria, from where it ended up in the Fürstlich Liechtenstein'sche Fideikomiss-Bibliothek of the Dukes of Liechtenberg in Vienna. In 1948 it was acquired by the New York bookseller William H. Schab and sold to William S. Glazier (1907–1962), through whom it finally came to the Pierpont Morgan Library.
Codicology
- Alternative Titles
- Codex Kálmáncsehi-Liechtenstein
Kálmáncsehi Breviarium
Kálmáncsehi-breviarium
Kálmáncsehi-Liechtenstein Breviary & Missal - Size / Format
- 674 pages / 30.2 × 22.5 cm
- Origin
- Hungary
- Date
- 1481
- Epochs
- Style
- Genre
- Language
- Script
- Gothic Textura
- Illustrations
- 1 full-page miniature, 54 decorative borders (7 of them historiated), 18 roundels and medallion miniatures, and 48 historiated initials as well as hundreds of other decorative initials
- Content
- Calendar, Breviary and missal
- Patron
- Domonkos Kálmáncsehi
- Artist / School
- Francesco da Castello
- Previous Owners
- Cistercian abbey of Viktring near Klagenfurt
Library of the Princes of Liechtenstein in Vienna
Kálmáncsehi-Liechtenstein Codex
The Nativity
This magnificent historiated initial – a “P” consisting of green acanthus leaves with a gold frame – shows the newborn Baby Jesus lying on a bed of golden hay as his mother kneels, hands folded in prayer, gazing upon the Messiah. The animals are also captivated by the child: the ox stands back and watches while the donkey leans in to give him a sniff. Joseph stands back holding a book in one hand and making a rhetorical gesture with the other. Unlike the other figures, he stares contemplatively up at the sky with a look of wonder on his face.
Kálmáncsehi-Liechtenstein Codex
The Crucifixion
Christ’s pale body bleeds from the wound in his side made by the spear of Longinus and the nails in his hands and feet as the vinegar-soaked sponge of Stephaton is held aloft in the background. He is flanked by Dymas (left), the repentant thief whose soul is being lifted up by an angel, and Gestes (right), the unrepentant thief who soul is taken by a demon. A crowd of soldiers and the seven hills of Jerusalem fill the background and five figures with halos appear in the foreground: one wipes tears away with a handkerchief, St. John and another figure support the swooning Virgin Mary, and Mary Magdalene embraces Christ’s cross.
The central miniature is surrounded by a gold historiated frame of flowering tendrils with naked figures, some lounging while others frolic and even wrestle. It also contains four medallion miniatures depicting Christ praying in the Garden of Gethsemane (top), the Deposition of Christ (left), the Entombment of Christ (right), and the coat of arms of Domonkos Kámáncsehi surmounted by a miter with infulae.
#1 Kálmáncsehi-Liechtenstein Breviary & Missal
Language: Hungarian, English
(1,000€ - 3,000€)
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