A manuscript service book for the divine offices of the confraternity of Santa Maria di Passione (or: Santa Maria della Passione), remarkably illustrated and written (one could better say lettered) on parchment in a very fine and legible hand, largely imitating roman printing types. It contains seven illustrations, the 5 full-page ones showing the Virgin Mary: the pietà, the annunciation, Mary as the woman of the apocalypse, a madonna and child, and the assumption of Mary. The two approximately half-page illustrations serve a more decorative function, more or less tailpieces: a jumble[!] of six putti on a garland with grape vines and a tree or shrub (laurel?) growing out of a gold vase (the fragments of red and black text on the vase are in mirror image and must have stuck to it). All illustrations are hand-painted with gouaches in striking colours. A divine office, or liturgy of the hours, contains the official set of prayers for the eight canonical hours of the day: matins, lauds, prime, terce, sext, nones, vespers and compline.
This Italian manuscript gives an insight into the day-to-day religious life of the members of the confraternity of Santa Maria di Passione in Milan and is supplemented with eye-catching, hand-painted illustrations and initials.
With an owners label on the front paste-down, "Sub tutela matris" (under protection of the [holy] mother), and an inscription in Dutch on the front paste-down: "Handschrift met geschilderde prenten. Italiaansch werk op perkament" (manuscript with painted illustrations. Italian work on parchment). The parchment leaves vary in colour from white to slightly browned, illustrations, initials and general text leaves in good condition - except the initials on pp. 7 and 31, the illustration on p. 33 because of some minor soiling and a tear in p. 9 (repaired with tape, but the text remains legible), lower outside corners of the leaves show minor signs of wear otherwise in good condition. Binding slightly soiled. Illustrated manuscript written in a very fine, legible hand. cf. A. Rovetta, "Oratorio di Santa Maria della Passione - Cenni storici", in Oratorio della Passione in SantAmbrogio a Milano: Risanamento degli intonaci e restauro degli affreschi (Milan, 2004), pp. 10-17.