Quartermaine Hall

Artisan: Ken Blythe
Date: Unknown
Intended Room: Library
Dimensions: 20 x 40 x 7 mm; ¾ x 1 ⅝ x ¼ inches (height x width x depth)
Inventory number: 2022.188

Provenance: Purchased from the artist’s daughter and son-in-law, who run The Little Book Company, via eBay, in May 2022.

This remarkable little miniature book is a facsimile of a manuscript on vellum in the National Library of Spain (inventory number Res/254 if anyone wants to take a look). It records a triumphal process of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, who is accompanied by members of the Imperial family, his court jesters and musicians, and all manner of knights and nobles, many of whom carry banners which allude to his great deeds and victories. It is related to the series of woodcuts on the same subject by Hans Burgkmair. Although it’s an awkward shape for a bookshelf, it might look rather wonderful on a lectern or reading table in the library.