This leaf is from the brief transitional period when the new technology of printing with movable type was combined with the more labor intensive methods of hand painting. The earliest printers were trained in the manuscript tradition and incorporated the conventions of historiated initials and illustrations into their early work. At first they left those spaces blank for the illuminator to complete entirely by hand. Later they developed printing methods (using woodcuts or iron engravings) to decorate the leaves.

This buttery vellum leaf features a hand-colored image on verso of the Crucifixion of Christ alongside the beginning of the "Stabat Mater dolorosa," a hymn that is associated with the Stations of the Cross. It translates as:

At the Cross her station keeping,
stood the mournful Mother weeping,
close to Jesus to the last.
Through her heart, His sorrow sharing,
all His bitter anguish bearing...

The text is surrounded by elaborate iron engravings that feature plants, flowers, and mythical creatures.

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Condition: B+

Light toning and soiling.