Illuminated initials in incunabula from Anton Kobeger’s printing house in the collection of the Raczyński Library in Poznań. A formal and stylistic analysis, and the problem of attribution

Abstract

In the article the author analyses a set of incunabula from the collection of the Raczyński Library in Poznań, characterised by a uniformity of illuminated initials. Formal features of the initials point to the so-called Koberger type developed by illuminators collaborating with the famous Nuremberg printer Anton Koberger. The Koberger initials, which have been studied by very few German scholars, are characterised by stems filled with colourful acanthus leaves or gold plates. The letters are presented on an ornamental fleuronné or golden background. They are usually surrounded by characteristic frames made up of alternating — usually green and red — sections. The initials from the Poznań books, which display such features, are divided in the article into three groups and compared with illuminations from Koberger books from other European libraries. A formal and stylistic comparison makes it possible to date the illumination in the Poznań books fairly precisely, and to attribute it hypothetically to Koberger’s workshop or illuminators imitating the Koberger style.