de Hamel, Christopher - Liber Bestiarum Limited Edition - ( Item 141791 )
Option 1 - Buy item for 661.60 with 1st class post TO A UK ADDRESS ONLY
Option 2 - Buy item for 661.50 with 2nd class post TO A UK ADDRESS ONLY
Option 3 - Buy item for 702.50 with Airmail TO AN ADDRESS IN USA OR CANADA
Option 4 - Buy item for 702.50 with Airmail TO AN ADDRESS IN THE REST OF THE WORLD (including the EU)
If ordering from overseas, please check any tax and import duties payable in your country, which will be additional to the costs given here.
You may prefer to order from overseas via our Ebay Listing which may give faster and cheaper postage (due to their economies of scale) and also will itemise extra costs upfront.
de Hamel, Christopher - Liber Bestiarum Limited Edition - ( Item 141791 )
Published in London by Folio Society. 2008. First Thus. Fine Hardback. No inscriptions or bookplates. Fine clamshell box. Limited Edition of 1980 copies of which this is number 138. Bound in full goatskin leather of finest Nigerian grade. Blocked in gold and three colours, with traditional raised bands on the spine, binding design by David Eccles. Gilding on all three edges, ribbon marker. 137 folios, with 135 miniatures with the original gold leaf reproduced in foiling. 282 pages in total. 12" x 7¾". Presented in a buckram-bound solander box. Commentary by Christopher de Hamel and translation by Richard Barber. 174 pages. Book size: 12" x 7¾". In the Middle Ages, men believed that studying animals allowed them to read God's plan as written in the natural world. Nowhere was this belief more prevalent than in England, where scribes toiled to produce some of the most enchanting and beautiful books of the age. This bestiary, dating from the mid-13th century and now housed in the Bodleian Library, is one of the finest produced in England, where there was a passion for these richly ornamented depictions of the natural world. Several bestiaries have survived the centuries, some heavily ornamented in gold, some as large as church Bibles, but of them all, this exquisite manuscript is the most charming. A perfect example of medieval illumination, it is clearly the work of a master artist and scribe - though richly ornamented in worked gold, the delicacy of the painting and the affectionate intimacy of the animal scenes are never overwhelmed. Opening it now, we can sense the pleasure the artist took in this work and the delight with which the completed manuscript was first received. Many bestiaries followed a set style of illumination. This one is unusual for including many scenes of animals interacting with the human world, from the noble lady out hawking with her servants to a knight on horseback abducting a tiger cub. The artist clearly has an affection for animals he knows well: the cat is shown curled up close to a fire, gazing longingly at a bird (in what is thought to be the first representation of a birdcage in English art) and proudly carrying a dead mouse. The size of the section devoted to birds is also exceptional - this was one of the first bestiaries to focus on them so heavily, an early indication perhaps of the English passion for ornithology. Specially commissioned by The Folio Society, de Hamel has written a detailed introduction providing a context for bestiaries in general and Bodley 764 in particular. Filled with fascinating revelations regarding the manuscript's provenance and style, this work is an ideal companion with which to decode the manuscript. For this limited edition commentary volume Richard Barber has significantly revised and expanded the translation he produced for The Folio Society in 1992.
Price 661.50 (inc UK postage) Other items you may like
Others by the same author
Safe and Secure Online Buying
To buy online, please click the appropriate button above. You will be transferred to secure pages hosted by Paypal, the largest online transaction processor in the world. You can pay with any major credit or debit card or by Paypal.
Money Back Guarantee, Secure Packaging and Fast Response
We are a major online trader with excellent feedback from satisfied customers on Ebay (over 25,000 customers). We will refund your costs for items returned within seven days for any reason. If we are at fault we will also refund your return postage. Items are sent in top grade book boxes for protection. Large items or multiple purchases may be boxed. Items will be despatched within a day of receipt of your order, usually on the same day if ordered before noon.
