Modern interventions
Artists' Materials
Three folios were analysed in the latter portion of the manuscript, which sustained the heaviest damage during the 19th-century flood, in order to establish whether the images were restored subsequently. No modern pigments were detected, but some indications of possible retouching did emerge. Notably, on fol. 271v the white bed sheets are shaded in blue with ultramarine, while the white curtains on the same page are shaded with indigo – a unique occurrence of two different blue pigments used to shade white areas on the same page. A small area on fol. 284v appears especially bright under UV illumination; observation under magnification reveals a transparent layer, likely organic, which covers the original paint and may be a trace of a past ‘conservation’ treatment. Finally, two robes on fol. 281r are of a much deeper pink colour than is found on other pages. While their composition is not in any way ‘suspicious’, as they contain no modern pigments, their different colour may suggest that they were not part of the original campaign of decoration.
Death and Assumption of the Virgin (collects, sermons and lessons for the Assumption)
This image, painted by Hand D, shows the Virgin on her death bed, surrounded by the apostles. The white robe and feet disappearing above allude to her Assumption. The image suffered water damage, causing superficial abrasion of the paint layer, especially noticeable in the draperies. Technical analyses did not give conclusive evidence for restoration, although two of the apostles wear robes of a much deeper pink colour than is found on other pages. While their composition is not in any way ‘suspicious’, as they contain no modern pigments, their different colour may suggest that they were not part of the original campaign of decoration.