London: An important medieval manuscript that was sold to a German collector has been saved for the nation.
The Wardington Hours was bought by the British Library with the help of a £250,000 (Dh1.8 million) grant from The Art Fund charity and donations from the Friends of the British Library.
The German book dealer paid £635,000 for the manuscript at Sotheby's in December, but it was deemed so important that the Government temporarily banned its export to give the library a chance to match the price.
Announcing the successful purchase yesterday, Scot McKendrick, head of Western manuscripts at the British Library, called The Wardington Hours an "inestimably important addition" to the library's collection of illuminated manuscripts in the style of the famous Bedford workshop in 15th century Paris.
This was the most important producer of illuminated works at the time and was named after one of its greatest patrons, Henry V's brother the Duke of Bedford. The work was previously owned by Lord Wardington, a leading bibliophile, who died two years ago. He owned more than 700 volumes that came close to destruction when a fire broke out at his home in 2004. After his death, the sale of his collection made a total of £17 million at auction.
