Medieval & Renaissance Manuscripts

Book of Hours
France, Rouen, ca. 1470
MS M.169 fol. 50r

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Christ: Nativity -- Virgin Mary, with scalloped nimbus, kneels with arms crossed on her breast before nude Christ Child, nimbed, emanating rays, laying on ground on hem of Mary's mantle. Opposite Mary, Joseph the Carpenter, bald, holding lighted candle in right hand and hat in left hand, kneels on one knee. Arc and emanating rays from top of arch of miniature. Scene before shed with hole in the roof, with brocade cloth behind Mary, ox and ass, and ruined stone wall, beyond which are visible trees and starry sky.
Margins with vinescroll, ivy-rinceaux, and floreate ornament.