Ascension 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. Following the calendar, Gospel lessons and Passion story are the mixed Hours of the Virgin (8), Holy Cross (7) and Holy Spirit (7). Beneath rubrics in red, Prime of the Holy Spirit opens with the illuminated initial 'D' (Deus in adiutorium meum intende) painted with white, red, blue and gold ivy-leaf ornament. The miniature is painted in demi-grisaille with pigments and gold and depicts the Ascension of Jesus into heaven witnessed by his mother Mary and a group of disciples. Angels both within the frame and in the margins hold Instruments of the Passion: pincers, hammer, nails, cross, crown of thorns, trumpet, column, lance, sponge and whips. Columbines, from the Latin word for dove (columba), appear prominently in the lower margin and were often used to symbolise the Holy Spirit, as well as the sorrows of the Virgin Mary. Only two angels appear on the verso and hold foliage instead of their objects. A bird (goldfinch) was added on the right.