The Rothschild Prayer Book, c.1505-1510, Kerry Stokes Collection, Perth Western Australia, LIB.2014.017

The Rothschild Prayer Book is acknowledged as a masterpiece of Renaissance manuscript illumination. This hand-painted manuscript was produced in Ghent and Bruges in the early sixteenth century (c.1505-1510) and has been attributed to some of the most renowned artists of the day, Gerard David, Gerard Horenbout, Simon Bening and his father Alexander Bening. Bound in crimson velvet with silver-gilt clasps, cornerpieces and centrepiece (fig.1) the manuscript contains 252 pages featuring religious prayers and devotions decorated with exquisite illustrations (fig.2).

The Rothschild Prayer Book, also known as the Book of Hours, is one of the finest illuminated manuscripts in private hands, held by the Kerry Stokes Collection in Perth, Western Australia. In Revealing the Rothschild Prayer Book (2015) Kerry Stokes reflected on the book’s remarkable journey over five centuries:

It’s hard to imagine a journey begun in around 1500AD, when the most notable artists and artisans of the day finally handed over this unique prayer book to its new owner. Never could they have dreamt that after such lengthy meticulous artistry dedicated to bringing the text and images to life, that the book would embark on a voyage through the centuries and end up on public display in present day Australia, a country not even contemplated by the flat earth beliefs of that time.(p.3)

The book has an intriguing and illustrious provenance. Its early ownership remains a mystery, although scholars of Medieval and Renaissance art history agree that it is ‘one of a group of spectacular manuscrits-du-luxe produced around 1490 to 1520 for an international clientele and members of the Hapsburg court in the Netherlands’ (Revealing the Rothschild Prayer Book, p.35). During the nineteenth century it entered the famous Rothschild family collection. This wealthy Jewish family had a successful banking business with centres in Frankfurt, Vienna, London, Naples and Paris, and were avid collectors of paintings, statues, furniture, books and armour. Baron Anselm von Rothschild in Vienna likely acquired the Prayer Book between 1868-1872, and it was passed down to his son Baron Nathaniel von Rothschild, and later to Baron Alphonse von Rothschild, as recorded in catalogues and inventories of the family’s collections. In 1938 the Nazis seized the Rothschild’s collections, including the Prayer Book, and in 1942 it was deposited in the Vienna National Library where it remained for many years. In 1999 it was returned to the Rothschild family who sold it through Christie’s auction house in London to a private bidder for more than $13 million, a world record for its category. In 2014 it was auctioned by Christie’s in New York where it was purchased by Kerry Stokes for a similar figure, and became part of his collection in Perth.

The book’s provenance reveals many interesting aspects about changing collecting practices over time. It points to the valuable role of patrons in the Renaissance who commissioned works of the highest artistic quality. Its acquisition by the Rothschild family illustrates their extravagant collecting practices in the nineteenth century, while its confiscation by the Nazis is a reminder of the shared fate of many similar collections across Europe during World War II and ongoing efforts to restitute items to their rightful owners. In a more local and contemporary context, this book reflects the important role of private collectors today, whose efforts to collect and preserve objects of cultural heritage adds significantly to the collecting sector. The Kerry Stokes Collection has a strong history of collaborating with collecting institutions and universities throughout Australia – for example they loaned the Rothschild Prayer Book to the National Library of Australia and collaborated with university researchers on various symposia and publications – and provides an excellent example of the significant role of private collectors in Western Australia today.