Armorial of the Order of the Golden Fleece from 1531, possibly for Emperor Charles V | Leaf through

Armorial with explanatory notes on the history of the Order of the Golden Fleece and its sovereigns up to Emperor Charles V. Illuminated manuscript with 5 full-page miniatures with portraits, 5 full-page with motto, coat of arms and crest and 184 lavishly illuminated coats of arms of Knights of the Golden Fleece. Folio (295 x 205 mm). Flanders, 1531 or shortly after. Brown leather binding of the mid 16th century.

The Armorial of the Order of Knights of the Golden Fleece, illuminated in imperial splendour on parchment in mint condition and complete in a 16th century binding, was created on the occasion of the chapter held in Tournai in 1531, possibly for Andrea Doria, Prince of Melfi, who was admitted to the Order at that time, or for Emperor Charles V himself. It contains 189 coats of arms (five full-page) and five full-page portraits of the Order’s sovereigns, from Philip the Good to Charles V, all of them illuminated in the most overwhelming manner. The stylistic freedom and the artistic level of the manuscript, which oscillates between late Gothic and Renaissance, indicate that it was created in the immediate vicinity of Charles V, be it in Flanders (workshop of Simon Bening?) or even in Northern Italy, and at the same time testifies to the Order’s internationality.

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