Virgin and Child from the Coëtivy Hours

Dunois Master, attributed to

Folio with three-quarter page miniature from a book of hours attributed to the Dunois Master, written in Latin and French in a bastarda script, made in Paris and dated 1443–1445. It was commissioned by Prigent de Coëtivy (1399?–1450) on the occasion of his marriage to Marie de Rais (1429–1457). Removed from the bound volume between 1933 and 1960. A prayer to the Virgin Mary concludes on the recto, illuminated in the margin with a bird and two angels emerging from blossoms between a vase of flowers, one plays the trumpet while the other holds a jewelled case. A prayer to the Virgin Mary on the verso opens with the illuminated initial 'O’ (O Beatissima virgo dei genitrix maria que gratuita pietate) painted with white, red, blue and gold ivy-leaf ornament. It is one of a series of twenty-six prayers to the Virgin Mary in this section of the manuscript. The great many devotions and miniatures dedicated to her is rather unusual. The miniature is painted in demi-grisaille with pigments and gold and depicts the Madonna and Child seated. Angels place a crown on Mary’s head, emphasising her role as the Queen of Heaven as well as the Mother of God. The various vessels around the space allude to her role as the chosen vessel of the Incarnate (vas electum).