Although the draped clothes St John wore were as skillfully painted, as expected from Bourdichon's atelier, the Master of the MBBH had depicted that Saint as if that artist knew how a man who was once a fisherman would dress in exile. His face was, in the manner of Bourdichon, realistic and expressive, but the Master of the Music Box Book of Hours had created an older and more muscular St John.
The Music Box Book of Hours lacked a colophon (written by the scribe and providing information about the making of the work). Provenance was not deep. Dating and authenticity had been partially made by the inclusion of both French and Latin texts, by how the hands of the scribe and the illuminator were consistent throughout the book, by a use of gold and inks and parchment that was expected for the era, by information in the book's calendar, and by the inclusion of an image of Anne of Brittany. Watermarks were confirmed. However, not only was Carbon-14 dating sometimes inaccurate, but also the process could be destructive. Sido had not authorized Carbon-14 dating for this work.
Nevertheless, about the Music Box Book of Hours, there was an aura of authenticity, and the moose, the eagle, and the fishermen's map of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland betrayed no evidence of forgery or overpainting. They were set in the work as if they clearly belonged. Although neither the scribe nor the painter had been identified, it was generally agreed that this work originated in the River Loire-based French Court in the late 15th or early 16th century.