Lot 3174

An exceptionally rare miniature silver-gilt book. The covers gilt to the interior and exterior, enclosing eight silver engraved pages depicting scenes from the life of Christ including the Annunciation, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. The pages are protected by a silver-gilt moveable liner resembling page edges, the silver-gilt insides of the covers also engraved, clasps hold the book closed. Maker unknown, but possibly made in Augsburg, Germany, 16th/17th century. 3,2 cm x 2,8 cm. An identical miniature book but with different page scenes and transformed to a pendant is in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, UK, Collection number 139871 / MAR.M.281-1912, and can be viewed at data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/139871. Literature: Treasured Possessions from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment pages 250, 269 and Stories of the Rose. The Making of the Rosary in the Middle Ages.