This gradual is from the Dominican Convent St. Katharinenthal and
represents one of the most important artworks of the Gothic period
in Switzerland. Created around 1312 in the convent itself, it was
probably illuminated in the area around Lake Constance. It contains
more than 80 pen-flourish initials, more than 60 historiated
initials and 5 I-initials, which consist of several historiated
medallions. Several pieces of the last two I-initials, whose
medallions were cut out and sold separately, are known today; they
are dispersed among various museums and libraries. In addition to
the initials, in the floral friezes there are represented numerous
kneeling and praying Dominican nuns as well as other secular donors
(e.g., 3v, 18v, 90r, 159v, 161r etc.). Until the 19th century, the
gradual was in use in the convent; around 1820 it was ceded to an
antiquarian book dealer in Konstanz, Franz Joseph Aloys Castell
(1796-1844). After 1860 it was owned by the English collectors Sir
William Amherst of Hackney and Sir Charles Dyson Perrins
(1864-1958). Upon the death of the latter, his library was offered
for sale through Sotheby's, and the manuscript was purchased by the
Swiss Confederation with the support of the Gottfried
Keller-Foundation and the Canton of Thurgau.
Place
Preferred form
Diessenhofen. Kloster Sankt Katharinenthal (Switzerland)
