The Clermont-Tonnerre Grail is the top lot at the Valuable Books and Manuscripts sale at Christie's London on 8 July
Courtesy of Christie's
A rare manuscript containing early versions of the myths of King Arthur, the famed prophet Merlin and the Holy Grail will go under the hammer at Christie’s London on 8 July with an estimate of £1.5m-£2m.
The manuscript (around 1290-1310), painted on vellum and adorned with gold leaf, is known as the Clermont-Tonnerre Grail and thought to have been produced in Metz, northern France, by the medieval artist Master of the Liège Apocalypse. The manuscript contains texts from the Old French Lancelot-Grail cycle along with 126 miniature illustrations including the Knights of the Round Table returning from battle.
Illumination by the Master of the Liège Apocalypse of Gawain, a Knight of the Round Table, and his men
Courtesy of Christie's
Eugenio Donadoni, the senior specialist in Medieval & Renaissance Manuscripts at the auction house, outlines in a statement why the artefact is so valuable. “This is a rediscovered manuscript of one the greatest of all medieval romances: the story of the Holy Grail, Merlin and the young King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, texts fundamental to Western culture: [it is] beautifully and richly illustrated and the earliest of only three known in private hands, with impeccable noble, aristocratic and bibliophilic provenance.”
According to a Christie’s catalogue, the manuscript was previously owned by Michel de Gronnais who played an “active part in military affairs” in Metz in the 15th century; Michel de Chaverson, a 16th-century jouster from Metz; the comte de Clermont-Tonnerre, a French aristocrat; Sir Thomas Phillipps, an eccentric UK baron who amassed a collection of over 60,000 manuscripts and books; and the industrialist Jean Lebaudy who died in 1969.
Donadoni adds: “While I can’t comment in detail on the seller, I can say it has come from a long-standing private collection. It has been a privilege to have been able to work on a manuscript of this rarity and calibre… As Merlin himself prophesies in the text itself: ‘And the story will forever be told and gladly heard for as long as the world lasts’.”
The bible, which is considered a masterpiece of Italian Renaissance art, is on display as part of the Vatican’s Holy Year celebrations
Richly coloured and decorated work is going on show after conservation, partly funded by the Tefaf Museum Restoration Fund
Scholars have reassembled the Hours of Louis XII
