miniatures

A new blog series focusing on an item's ownership history.

The Life of a… series will focus on a particular item, the hands it has passed through and the eras it has survived. When viewed alone, it is easy to become caught up in a manuscript’s beauty, as well as its many intricacies, but it is worth remembering that all of the objects that survive from the Middle Ages and Renaissance have endured a great deal of history. 

Art fair visitors often approach us at our stand and say to us:
"I am interested in collecting medieval illuminated manuscripts, but I'm not sure where to begin."
First and foremost, you should love the artworks with which you live, so we always advise you to get a good sense of what aesthetic styles and what themes attract you the most. From there, knowing your budget is also essential. Below, you will find our Top Ten suggestions for great works of illumination that are perfect for the beginning collector. 

This year, our exhibition at Frieze Masters has an unusual theme. Inspired by Alain de Botton’s and John Armstrong’s book Art as Therapy, the exhibition will include a thematic display that focuses on the emotions that the artworks convey, or on life lessons to be learned from the works. Loosely based on the ideas from the book and the teachings of The School of Life, some of the thematic cases will show artistic depictions of life skills, such as resilience, curiosity, and virtue.