Style Imitating Art | Book of Hours by Unknown 14th Century French Artists

About Style Imitating Art

Style Imitating Art is hosted by Salazar of 14 Shades of Grey, Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge, and Marsha of Marsha in the Middle. Style Imitating Art challenges us to draw style inspiration from pieces of art. Every other Monday, one of the hosts, acting as presenter, selects an inspiration image that they will each post on their blogs. The following Monday, each host shares her art inspired outfit. Participants are invited to submit their art inspired outfits to the presenter by 10:00 p.m. EST on the Tuesday following the hosts’ art inspired outfit posts. The following day, Wednesday, the presenter will share all of the submissions on her blog.

You don’t have to be a blogger to join either! In fact, you don’t even have to join but you can still use the art to inspire an outfit just for the sake of trying something different. If you want to share your inspired outfit, we invite you do so on Instagram or any other social media platform that you prefer. Just be sure to tag Salazar, Shelbee, or Marsha or use #TeamLOTSStyle and #StyleImitatingArt so the hosts know you have joined. Go have some fun in your closets and join the SIA challenge next week!

This Week’s Presenter

Salazar has been on a medieval kick lately, so she chose this 14th Century Book of Hours by unknown French artists. What sets this book apart from other medieval manuscripts is the intricate lacy cut-outs all along the borders of the pages. 

The Artwork

Book of Hours by Unknown 14th Century French Artists

About the Artist: Unknown 14th Century French Artists

I suppose there isn’t much to say when the artists are unknown. Experts believe that this particular Book of Hours was probably created as a wedding gift for a young bride in early 14th Century France. The manuscript is unusual because of the lacy rosettes cut into every one of its parchment margins.

Curator Lynley Herbert and conservator Abigail Quandt gave a 2021 lecture at The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland, which revealed how they were able to prove that the cutting was original to the manuscript’s 1310 creation, making it the earliest known book of its kind.

About the Art: Book of Hours-The Walters Lace Manuscript

Books of Hours are Christian prayer books which were especially popular during the Middle Ages. Due to this popularity, they are the most common type of illuminated medieval manuscripts to survive. Each surviving manuscript is unique from all the others, but most contain a similar collection of Christian texts, prayers, and psalms. Many of the surviving books have minimal decoration except those that were made for the wealthy are extremely elaborate and lavish.

The Walters Lace Manuscript has been dated circa 1310 with no other manuscripts of this sort appearing until more than three centuries later, making it a complete historical conundrum. The book was bound in Champagne, France, at the beginning of the 14th Century. It stands out among later books of its type due to its unique square dimensions of 4 3/4 x 3 15/16 in. (12 x 10 cm).

This manuscript was purchased by Henry Walters, founder of The Walters Art Museum, in the early 20th Century, and still remains a part of the museum’s collection of over 200 Books of Hours.

I cannot offer a better description than the very elegant one provided in the first linked article below. If you are a medieval history buff like Salazar or a bibliophile like me, I highly recommend reading it. It is really fascinating stuff.

Resources/References:

• A Cut Above the Rest…? Unraveling the Mystery of the Walters “Lace” Manuscript
• New Eyes on Old Books: Unraveling the Mystery of the Walters Lace Manuscript. Baltimore, MD, The Walters, February 17th, 2021 [Lecture]
• The Walters Art Museum: Book of Hours

About My Outfit:

The lacy cut outs on the ivory parchment inspired me to wear this ivory lace maxi dress. The weather is still chilly here so I added an old thrifted off-white cardigan which is a really handy layering piece for the transitional season. Taking inspiration from the shades of brown in the book cover, I accessorized with lots of brown wearing my new cowgirl boots and brown fedora which I recently styled together for another SIA challenge.

Because the Book of Hours is a religious text, I wore some spiritual jewelry including my Zen Spirit Mala beads and my crocheted crystal necklace. My multi strand beaded necklace is old with no significant sentimental value and my copper earrings were recently thrifted. The earrings have a bit of engraving and texture on them similar to my old brown and gold embossed belt. Both reminded me of the writing style that might appear in ancient manuscripts.

And of course, the final topper, the icing and the cherry on this lacy bibliocake, is my upcycled robe. Just like my ugly dress transformations, I took this equally ugly kaftan and cut it open to make a ruana-style robe. Now I can wear it over a dress without the icky fabric directly touching my skin. I never took a photo of the kaftan before I altered it, but here is a photo of the same one in a blue and orange print before I transformed it. Now instead of two ugly kaftans that I was never going to wear, I have two fabulous robes that I will surely bring out to play!

I chose the rich mulberry colored robe with the yellow print because the colors reflect the vibrant reds and golds in the artwork on the manuscript pages. Also the scrolly floral design on the robe reminds me of the type of decorative artwork you might find adorning the pages and covers of medieval texts.

I haven’t worn this dress in a few years and the newly altered robe has never been worn, so this was a super successful style challenge because I absolutely loved the end result, using all things I already have but have been neglecting. How did I do?

I hope you enjoyed my interpretation of this beautiful Book of Hours. Be sure to check out Salazar’s interpretation of the artwork as well as Marsha’s take on it. If you would like to participate in this challenge and have your photo included in Salazar’s round up post on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, be sure to email your photos to her by Tuesday, April 23, 2024, by 10:00 p.m. EST. I am excited to see what you all style!

Keeping it on the edge,

Shelbee

Joining with these Fabulous Link Parties.

Outfit Details: Dress-Torrid / Robe-Burlington Coat Factory, Altered by Me / Boots-Shyanne (Boot Barn) / Mala Beads-Zen Spirit Malas / Earrings and Ivory Cardigan-Thrifted / Crocheted Crystal Necklace-Black Forest Trading Post / Hat, Belt, and Multi-Strand Beads-Old