Auction Highlights
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Etruscan Painted Terracotta Architectural Cornice
Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,900
A fragment of amorphous form, decorated in relief with scrolling tendrils and anthemion, painted egg-and-dart ornament above, surmounted by moulded bands and a frieze of meander and chequerboard panels; remains of red and black painted pigment. -
Roman Bronze Eros Cradling Goose Applique
Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,950
Formed as the bust of Eros looking upwards, stub wings to his shoulders, holding a goose to his chest; conical socket above each wing; eyes with silver inserts; old collector's label '1994 51.75' to the reverse; mounted on a custom-made stand; likely a socket base. -
Roman Silver-Gilt Military Buckle for an Elite Imperial Officer
Sold for (Inc. bp): £7,800
Comprising a rectangular plate, richly decorated with embossed laurel leaves in a grid, framed with raised bosses, the buckle loop comprising opposing dragons with open mouths, holding a spherical tongue-rest, another pair of smaller dragon heads to base, the tongue with a smaller pair of punch-decorated dragon heads. -
South Arabian Bronze Bowl with Mythical Animals
Sold for (Inc. bp): £5,850
Hemispherical in form, repoussé interior displaying graduated concentric registers of stylised and mythical animals within tessellating cartouches; a low relief mesomphalos decorated with rosette at centre; geometric ornament around the rim. -
Assyrian Bronze Relief Fragment
Sold for (Inc. bp): £16,900
Displaying a corrugated rim above and below; two advancing soldiers, each striding forwards over the headless body of a dead enemy, carrying a severed head in each hand; the soldiers shown bearded and each wearing a pointed and segmented helmet with a recess to accommodate the ears, a cuirass and thigh-length tunic, with a bow over one shoulder and a sword slung from a waist belt; mounted on a custom-made display stand. -
Bronze Age Gold Bracelet with Torc-Shaped Terminals
Sold for (Inc. bp): £11,440
Of penannular form with expanded sections at the centre and to both shoulders. -
'The Oving' Anglo-Saxon Gilt Bronze Great Square-Headed Brooch
Sold for (Inc. bp): £4,160
Comprising a rectangular headplate with two panels of chip-carved Style I ornament, flanking a beast-head with triangular muzzle and two pellet eyes, raised three-sided frame and outer band of pellets above beast-heads with lentoid eyes; the shallow bow with raised median rib, flanges to the edges and punched pellet detailing; footplate with beast-head between curved pellet lines, pierced horse-head lappets, lozengiform central panel with knot of Style I limbs; two lateral discs, one pierced to accept a stud and the other with a domed stud in place; the finial a disc with human mask inverted; pin-lug and part of catch to the reverse. -
Anglo-Saxon Gilt Bronze Great Square-Headed Brooch
Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,900
Displaying chased panels populated with Style I zoomorphs and geometric forms, borders of annulets, raised masks to the upper corners of the headplate; applied discoid boss to bow decorated with a rosette, addorsed beast heads below; extensive remains of gilding; pin lug and catchplate to reverse and remains of ancient repair, lower part absent. -
'The Tenby' Hiberno-Norse Viking Penannular Brooch
Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,640
Comprising a round-section crescent with flared ends terminating in two curved spatulate flat panels, each with a ropework border surrounding a two-band knotwork motif; cleaned and conserved. -
Medieval Oil Painting of Sorrowful Virgin
Sold for (Inc. bp): £9,100
The weeping Virgin with her head bowed to the left and hands raised to her chest on a dotted gilt background, an expression of pain on her delicately formed face; wearing a white veil and a black long-sleeved robe, the veil arranged as a headdress and covering her hair; on wood and mounted in a later carved wooden architectural frame. -
Medieval Stained Glass Panel With Saint Martin on Horseback
Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,080
Shown beneath an arcade, offering his cloak on the end of his sword to the beggar at his feet; polychrome detailing; repaired with lead cames and held in a wooden frame. -
Medieval Stained Glass Panel with The Virgin and Child
Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,860
Composed from irregular painted panels bearing mainly foliage designs and figural elements; Mary crowned and enthroned with infant Jesus on her knee, in a lobed vesica-shaped panel held with lead cames; mounted in a wooden frame with modern replacements. -
Medieval Stone Column Capital with Lion and Human Face
Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,950
Carved in the half-round with a frieze composed of interlaced foliage with two rows of acanthus leaves and foliage scrolls, framing a lion's head on one side and a human head on the other, remains of lion's mane to the third; drilled holes to the raised surfaces and sockets for the insertion of decorative stones. -
'The Kirkleavington' Medieval Bronze Inscribed Purse Frame
Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,640
The bar with central D-shaped block pierced vertically by a stud surmounted by the suspension loop, with four pierced flanges to the underside; the frame in two sections, the larger a U-shaped rod with pivot for the bar, the smaller pivoting within the inner face, both pierced on the inner face; the block inscribed to one face with capital S and to the other with intersecting Vs; the bar inscribed to one face in capitals 'A DOMINI TECVM' and to the other in coarsely incised capitals 'AVEMARIA G[R]ACIAPLE[NA]'; the smaller rod inscribed in capitals 'CREATOREN CELI ET TERRE ET IN [IES]VN'; the larger inscribed with a band of scrolled decoration and the text in Lombardic capitals 'SOLI DEO HONOR ET GLORIA'; the accompanying letter discusses the texts (1) Ave Maria G[r]acia ple[n]a Dominus Tecum 'Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord [is] with thee'; (2) Soli Deo Honor et Gloria 'Honour and glory to God alone'; (3) Creatorem celi et terrae et inferum 'creator of heaven and earth and in Jesus'. The intersecting Vs may form a monogram for A[ve] M[aria]; the 1847 letter describes the findspot as 'found at Kirkleavington near Yarm in the sill of a brook' in the North Riding of Yorkshire. -
'The Roxwell' Medieval Gold Signet Ring of 'King's Serjeant William Skrene'
Sold for (Inc. bp): £23,400
Gold hoop and discoid bezel with incuse ropework border; incuse image of a bird of prey perching with wings spread and head turned; blackletter incuse and reversed inscription in an arc above the bird's head and pinions '·al : for : ye : best ·' (all for the best); repair to hoop. -
Medieval Silver 'Edmund Plantagenet, Earl of Rutland' Royal Hawking Vervel
Sold for (Inc. bp): £9,750
Or a leg ring inscribed '+Earle of Rutland' in derivative black letter script, for a female merlin or sparrow hawk (due to the youth of Edmund Plantagenet who died aged 17); the ring with a convex interior face. -
Post Medieval Gold Memento Mori Ring with Inscribed Posy 'In God Alone Wee Two Are One'
Sold for (Inc. bp): £4,680
Displaying large flower heads, foliage and a skull to the outer face, enhanced with black enamelling; interior inscribed in a cursive script 'In god alone wee two are one', together with possible maker's stamps 'D' and 'F' in two rectangular cartouches. -
Heavy Post Medieval Gold 'Love Is The Bond Of Pease' Posy Ring
Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,860
Composed of a gently carinated hoop, the interior inscribed in cursive script 'Love is the bond of pease'. -
Post Medieval Gold 'Live Life to the Full' Decorated Posy Ring
Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,380
Composed of a decoratively notched hoop divided into chased rhomboidal panels displaying foliate tendrils and horizontal hatching alternately; the interior inscribed in Roman capitals with the Latin phrase: 'x x x x VIVE x VT x VIVAS'. -
English Milled Coins - George VI - 1937 - Cased RM Proof Coronation Gold Set [4]
Sold for (Inc. bp): £11,700
Set comprising gold five pounds, two pounds, sovereign and half sovereign. Obvs: profile bust with GEORGIVS VI D G BR OMN REX F D IND IMP legends. Revs: St George and dragon; date in exergue; with original Royal Mint hinged red leatherette case of issue.
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Medieval Pewter Tripod Candlestick with Relief Decoration
Flanders, 13th-14th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,470
Hemispherical cup to top, six semi-circular loops to neck and shoulder, decoration to each of three faces in relief comprising: a rider on horseback; a lion; a male and female figure embracing, each corner with a D-shaped flange with zoomorphic or foliate ornament. 165 grams, 8 cm
Ex Pierre-Richard Royer, 2010. Ex central London gallery. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.202060. -
Medieval Wooden 'True Face of Christ' Icon
Castile, circa 1500-1520 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,560
Depicting an idealised image of Christ on a gilt background, stylised cross behind; wide eyebrows and double-pointed beard; the hair falling on the shoulders in neat locks; wearing a red tunic with gold embroidery reading 'REX + REGUM' for 'king of kings', pearled edge. 1.28 kg, 28.5 cm
Excellent condition
with Ansorena, 10 November 2014, lot 456. Ex central London gallery. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11742-202064.
The crimson tunic of our painting is clearly derived from the Van Eyck model, where crimson is associated with the Majesty of Christ. Christ is in fact shown here as the Saviour of the World (Salvator Mundi), a popular image in 15th century paintings. -
Medieval Wooden Panel with Scene of Birth of Christ
15th-16th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,300
Showing Mary and Joseph standing beside Jesus laying in the manger, donkeys leaning in to see the child, an angel above, roof and cupola over. 558 grams, 35.5 cm high
Acquired 1990s-early 2000s. East Anglian private collection. -
Late Medieval Ethiopian Wooden Diptych Depicting the Crucifixion and Resurrection
Circa 1550 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £286
Composed of a pair of recessed panels forming folding doors; the right panel with painted crucifixion scene depicting robed Mary, John the Evangelist and another apostle, angels collecting the blood in cups; the left panel with nude Adam and Eve with deceased reaching up towards resurrected Christ holding the standard of Victory in his left hand, two holy women, the myrrh bearers (Mary Magdalen and Mary, mother of Jesus) to the left. 499 grams, 24 cm high each
Ex French private collection, 2000. Ex central London gallery.
The icon shows the Western influence on Ethiopian art. The Crucifixion image contains many elements of this iconography which are found in many Oriental and Western Art of Middle Ages, but with significant changes from the previous representations: Jesus is nailed with three nails and not four, the head leaning towards his right shoulder and the hair falling on his shoulders. Following the Western influence, Christ is represented in a spasm of physical pain, and consequently a more detailed anatomy of his chest and abdomen is depicted. This concept of the Crucifixion, common in the Italian Late Middle Age and Renaissance art, found its way to Ethiopia at some time towards the end of the 15th century, or at the beginning of the 16th century. As in the majority of the Resurrection icons of this period, Christ is dressed in a long robe with a cloak or toga draped over one shoulder. -
Medieval Oil Painting of Sorrowful Virgin
Aragon, Spain, circa 16th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £9,100
The weeping Virgin with her head bowed to the left and hands raised to her chest on a dotted gilt background, an expression of pain on her delicately formed face; wearing a white veil and a black long-sleeved robe, the veil arranged as a headdress and covering her hair; on wood and mounted in a later carved wooden architectural frame. 5.1 kg, 71 cm
Good state of conservation, despite the small damage to the painting visible on the right shoulder of the Virgin.
with Duran Arte y Subastas, 17 September 2015, lot 72. Ex central London gallery. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11750-202070.
The painting represents the Virgin Mary Dolorosa or Our Lady of Seven Sorrows: a classic representation of the suffering experienced by the Virgin during the passion of Jesus Christ. -
Medieval Drawing of a Saint
Nestorian Community, circa 1450-1500 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £468
Composed of a polychrome painted saint figure standing facing right; parchment fragment behind with inked Latin blackletter script and musical neumes; mounted on modern backing card. 8 grams, 15.5 cm
Ex J. Altounian collection (1890-1954), until 2009. Ex central London gallery. -
Medieval Stained Glass Panel With Saint Martin on Horseback
Basel, Switzerland, circa 1520 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,080
Shown beneath an arcade, offering his cloak on the end of his sword to the beggar at his feet; polychrome detailing; repaired with lead cames and held in a wooden frame. 1.8 kg, 49.5 cm, (54.5 cm including box)
Ex old Swiss private collection. Ex central London gallery. -
Medieval Stained Glass Panel with the Education of Christ with St Anne and the Virgin
Brussels, Belgium, circa 1520 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £338
Shown seated within a garden against a rolling landscape backdrop; with polychrome detailing and lead came borders, two modern suspension loops to the top corners. 254 grams, 20.3 cm
Private collection, Paris. -
Medieval Stained Glass Panel with Virgin and Child
Low Countries, Duchy of Brabant, Louvain, circa 1530 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,430
The roundel held within a lead came with suspension loop to top, displaying the infant Christ suckling at the breast of the Virgin, seated within a grand architectural setting with vistas onto the landscape beyond; repaired. 272 grams, 23 cm
Ex property of Ellen G and Manual E Rionda, Glen Goin, Alpine, New Jersey, U.S.A. From the collection of Woody and Nancy Bolton, Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S.A. with Samuel T. Freeman & Co, 22 May 2012, lot 263. Ex central London gallery. -
Medieval Stained Glass Roundel with Joseph in Front of the Pharaoh
Northern France or Southern Low Countries, circa 1540 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £715
Displaying polychrome detailing, the French word 'CONSEIL' (advice, counsel) shown to bottom right; panel within a lead came border with two modern loops for suspension; some cracking. 328 grams, 27.8 cm
Private collection, Paris. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.202093. -
Medieval Stained Glass Panel with The Virgin and Child
Northern France, circa 1270 A.D. and laterSold for (Inc. bp): £2,860
Composed from irregular painted panels bearing mainly foliage designs and figural elements; Mary crowned and enthroned with infant Jesus on her knee, in a lobed vesica-shaped panel held with lead cames; mounted in a wooden frame with modern replacements. 5.75 kg, 85 x 56 cm
with Thierry de Maigret, Vitraux et Dessins, Paris, 20 June 2014, lot 53. -
Medieval Stone Capital with Prophet Daniel and Lions
Spain or Southern France, 12th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £845
From an architectural column with a square upper face developing to a rounded base; a decorative frieze carved in the half-round depicting two seated lions, each with its tail looped around its lower body, supporting a pedestal on which a facing bust of a young boy is resting. 25.7 kg, 36 cm
Good condition
with Piasa, 7 June 2013, lot 17. Ex central London gallery. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11738-202062.
The form of the capital and the shape of the beasts are similar to those sculptures that survive in churches on the pilgrimage route to Santiago da Compostela – namely in Southern France and Northern Spain, but the bodies of the lions have many correspondences with the capital sculptures of Poitou. The lions were considered to be guardians against evil and the image of the young boy is probably a representation of the prophet Daniel. There is a similar capital in the Church of d'Airvault (Deux-Sèvres) also ornamented with lions and a human head.