The McCarthy Collection I : Italian and Byzantine Miniatures Volume I: Italian and Byzantine Miniatures - Gaudenz Freuler - Paul Holberton - relié - Beau livre

This handsomely produced publication is the first of a two volume set exploring an outstanding collection of leaves and miniatures from medieval manuscripts. Brimming with beautiful illustrations, this welcome contribution to medieval scholarship covers a period from the late 9th to the late 15th centuries and incorporates new discoveries in this still growing field. The turbulent times when Napoleon’s troops were sweeping over Europe under the banner of secularization, seeking to suppress ecclesiastical influence within the sphere of political power, had disastrous consequences especially for ecclesiastical libraries, which were broken up and looted. The Italian religious houses had their cultural treasures destroyed or moved out of context and spread all over the world to satisfy a growing market for medieval art. These fatal years (1796-99) coincide with a major interest in early Italian painting, when French and English connoisseurs joined their Italian colleagues in a systematic s