Dominican Antiphonal. Italy, 17th Century

Italy. Leather. Good. Item #49357

17th-century Dominican antiphonal from Italy, written in Latin on paper in a neat, careful informal hand. Measuring 22 × 16 cm, the volume contains primarily Gregorian chants with distinctive Dominican additions. Each page bears eight four-line staves drawn in dark brown ink, with black square notation throughout and several pages of mensural notation at the end; bar lines appear in black or red. The text is in dark brown ink, with rubrics, headings, and some capitals in red. Signs of age and use include minor ink corrosion and damp staining to the lower portion of the final section. Pagination reads 285 + 6 + 207 + 52 + 4 + 60 pages, with catchwords throughout and inconsistent handwritten numbering, suggesting later rearrangements and additions. The contents comprise four main sections: the Temporal (chants for the liturgical year beginning with Advent), the Sanctoral (including the feast of St. Rose of Lima, canonized in 1671 and the first saint born in the Americas), the Common (for apostles, martyrs, evangelists, and virgins without individual feast days), and a later 60-page addition on different paper, written by several hands, containing further Dominican chants. Bound in 17th-century calf, worn overall, with one clasp lacking and the other present though the catch is loose. Endpapers have been removed, and the second blank is detached. There is no title-page-none appears to have been intended-as the text begins on page 1 and the pagination is continuous, with nothing seemingly missing. Acquired in Italy in 1984 from the Roman bookseller C. E. Rappaport, noted for rare religious works; the original export visa accompanies the manuscript. In all, a well-preserved and characteristic example.

Price (CAD): $2,000.00