16th Century

3 November 2017 by engagement

Hand with 5-petal flower on stem above; trefoil on glove over letters ‘V O [?]’

Watermark	Hand with 5-petal flower on stem above; trefoil on glove over letters ‘V O [?]’
Date	1575
Location of use	‘Baile in Chuimine’ [Ballycummin] and ‘Baile Tibhaird’ [Ballyhoward/Howardstown],  Co. Limerick, Ireland
Dimensions	upper part: 45 x 9mm; lower part: 35 x 23 mm; centre not captured
Chain-lines	]17–24–24–24–25–25–24–24–13[
Position	horizontal, across gutter between lines 4 and 5
Process	Canon EOS, backlighting; composite created with Photoshop
Source	RIA MS 23 N 10; consists of 28 vellum pages and 132 paper pages; a miscellany of early prose and poetry written by scribes of the Ó Maoil Chonaire family and friends, for their own use. One leaf (pp 137–8) appears to contain second watermark (not captured) consisting of top of pot with part of handle visible.
Repository	Royal Irish Academy, Dublin

30 March 2017 by engagement

Hand with six-petal flower on stem above

Watermark	Hand with six-petal flower on stem above
Date	1509
Location of use	Cill Athricht [Killaraght, Co. Sligo, Ireland]
Dimensions	Composite: 28 mm x 31 mm (lower section), 20 mm x 43 mm (upper section)
Chain-lines	Obscured
Position	Horizontal across gutter
Process	Canon EOS, backlighting; composite image created through Photoshop
Source	RIA MS 23 N 29 (467) ff. 4 (lower section) and 6 (upper section) medical text written by Connla Mac an Leagha [thanks to Dr Aoibheann Nic Dhonnchadha for advice]
Repository	Royal Irish Academy, Dublin

30 March 2017 by engagement

Quatrefoil on shield with letter B, over scroll containing name ‘NICOLAS LEBE’, a papermaker of Troyes, France.

Watermark	Quatrefoil on shield with letter B, over scroll containing name ‘NICOLAS LEBE’, a papermaker of Troyes, France.
Date	Late 16th / early 17th century:  cf. Briquet 8079; Gravell §§ 629, 1065, 1714; occurs in MSS of works by Philip Sidney, John Harington and Edmund Campion
Location of use	Ireland
Dimensions	59 mm x 17 mm
Chain-lines	17]-23-18-20-22-21-21-20-20-[5; horizontal
Position	centred on line 6, inner margin
Process	Canon EOS, backlighting; Photoshop
Source	RIA MS 23 N 29 (467) [composite manuscript] f. 57, fragment containing aphorisms of Hippocrates.
Repository	Royal Irish Academy, Dublin

8 August 2016 by engagement

Gloved hand with flower (five petals on stem) above

Watermark	Gloved hand with flower (five petals on stem) above
Date	16th century
Location of use	Co. Mayo?
Dimensions	c. 72 mm x 20 mm [hand and flower 42 mm high, glove 30 mm]
Chain-lines	gutter 20]-25-25-[11 fore-edge
Position	Hand and flower p. 98, lower margin, between gutter and line 1; glove p. 58 upper margin between gutter and line 1
Process	Canon EOS, backlighting; composite image created through Photoshop
Source	Royal Irish Academy MS 23 A 4 (469), pp. 58 and 98; a medical manuscript written by Aodh Ó Ceannamháin; cf. British Library MS Add. 15582 (thanks to Dr Aoibheann Nic Dhonnchadha)
Repository	Royal Irish Academy, Dublin