Parcel-gilt plaque from a coffre, with openwork foliage border, central disc with raised heater shield flanked by reserved scrolled tendrils; shield with red border and field of diagonal stripes; Limoges workmanship; blazoned 'bendy of seven azure an or within a bordure gules', the arms of the house of Burgundy. 75 grams, 99 mm

Private collection, Paris, France.
with Pierre-Richard Royer, 2006.
Ex private collection, Suffolk, UK.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12148-217468.

With substantial hook, pyramidal collar and enamelled lozenge panels: obverse with a red bend bearing three reserved stars on a blue-striped field; reverse with reserved bend on blue field with six reserved stars, an extremely rare type. 38 grams, 78 mm

Found Grimsby, UK.
From an East Anglian private collection.

The arms to the obverse are similar to those of Richard de Valoines (barry of six azure and or, a bend gules).

Rectangular glass panel in lead frame; nimbate figure of Christ confronting Pontius Pilate in a landscape. 2.65 kg, 60.5 x 36 cm

From the estate of Lloyd and Margit Cotsen, 2023.
Ex central London gallery.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12147-217458.

Square in plan with round base and expanding trunk decorated on two faces with dense scrolled foliage and two opposed lions perching on branches within; high-relief modelling and some deep undercutting. 27.5 kg, 26 cm

Private collection in Bordeaux.
with Pierre Berge, 29 November 2017, no.7.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12146-217446.

Triptych in a wooden frame comprising: Left: Mary in blue robe advancing against a red field, one hand raised before her face; Centre: crucifixion scene with Corpus Christi flanked by two thieves on smaller crosses beside truncated pillars, all against a blue field; Right: St John the Evangelist in floor-length blue robe matching that of Mary, standing in a red field with head tilted downwards; substantial modern metal supporting frame to the reverse with electrical cable for integral illumination (untested). 26.5 kg, 153 x 78.5 cm

Collection of Philip Kohler, Normandy, France, acquired by his parents in 1950s-1960s.
Acquired from the above, 2009.
Ex private collection, Suffolk, UK.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12150-217449.

Each a rectangular block with carved male head; the figure looking to his right wearing a low chaperon with thick rolled brim; the other figure wearing a close-fitting cap with broad upturned rim; each mounted on a custom-made stand. 62.55 kg total including stands, 43.5-44.5 cm deep

Believed to be from a building in the West Country, UK.
Acquired from Lichen Garden Antiques, Oxfordshire, UK, in 2012.
Property of a Kent collector.

The cap similar to the style worn by Thomas Cromwell in the portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger in the Frick Collection, New York, Accession no.1915.1.76.

Rectangular vellum panel, hand-coloured initial 'D' from a manuscript page; to the left edge, a bearded male face in profile wearing a red cap; around the capital, four coral-pink dragons with head in profile; within the loop of the 'D' a scene depicting an old man with long white hair and beard kneeling before a table, above him Christ in 'Salvator Mundi' guise nimbate and holding an orb; in an old glazed wooden frame with cartapesta panel to the reverse. 347 grams, 18 x 18.7 cm

Private collection, Tuscany, inherited, 1969.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12060-217464.

Cf. miniature of God blessing David, in the Graduale G 73, Museum of Bargello, Firenze, folio 2r, early 15th century, for similar.

The illumination is from a cutting of dismembered Code, likely representing a book of the ancient Testament. It is difficult to say who is the character to which God is appearing, although his costume betrays the intention to represent a grieving man, in Jewish garb. This points to a possible individuation of the man as David (an interpretation supported by the letter D), who, penitent in front of God for the sin he committed by killing Uriah, receives the blessing and forgiveness of God, whose hand is depicted in the blessing gesture.

Discoid glazed mount with tiered profile, painted miniature of an Old Testament prophet with epigraphic scroll and incomplete Latin inscription reciting 'Hic e Deus tuus..et non estimavi ali...ac illus' [He is your God...and I did not estimate other...and He...' 57 grams, 11.4 cm

Private collection, Tuscany, inherited, 1969.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12059-217465.

Cf. similar in Tóvizi Á., 'Some newly discovered Quattrocento illuminations in Székesfehérvár', in Arte cristiana, 96 (2008), pp.307-12.

The illumination is from a cutting of dismembered codex, likely representing a book of the Old Testament. In 15th century North Italy there were proficient artists realising images on vellum, like the Master of Murano Gradual (active between 1430-1460). The miniature represents an Eastern Prophet, dressed with turban and long coat, maybe Ezekiel, or Abacuc, or even Moses, a prophet linked with the prophecies related to the Messiah.

Vellum manuscript page with hand-coloured large initial 'S' in a square frame and miniature painting of Christ emerging resurrected from the tomb and Mary kneeling before him; lateral band with acanthus-leaf scrolls and asterisks; mounted in a glazed wooden frame with a reveal. 1.06 kg total, 37.5 x 33.5 cm

Private collection, Barcelona, 2022.
Ex central London gallery.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12151-217463.

Rectangular panel with cartapesta relief of Virgin and Child carved in the half-round; Mary seated, nimbate with hands pressed together in prayer, infant lying across her lap, flanked by four winged angels in poses of adoration; gilt surface with pink flesh tones; inscribed to base 'SALVE REGINA MATE[R MISERICORDIAE]' (Hail Mother the Queen). 1.07 kg, 36.5 x 27 cm

German private collection, 2019.
Ex central London gallery.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12056-217445.

Cf. similar relief in Metropolitan Museum, accession no.1974.126.4, from North-Italy, 15th century in Castelnuovo-Tedesco, L. and Soultanian, J., Italian Medieval Sculpture in The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Cloisters, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2010, no.51, pp.255–259.

Like all the ancient and medieval statues, this artwork was also originally lavishly painted and most of the colours are still visible with gold and red and light blue being the main colours used for Saint Mary. Interestingly, the inscription recalls the three first words of the Cluny prayer to the Virgin Mary: SALVE REGINA, MATER MISERICORDIAE (Hail Holy Queen Merciful Mother), used by the Templars as a war song.

Wooden carved archway with high-relief image of St Veronica in floor-length robe standing on a domed base holding up the sudarium with the transferred image of the face of Christ with crown of thorns; raised edges and keyhole to the left edge with attachment holes for a lock mechanism, recess to the reverse. 810 grams, 32.5 cm high

Private collection, Bonn, Germany.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12057-217471.

See the ‘Way to the Calvary’, Netherlands circa 1510, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, accession no.15.12; in Fogg., S., Medieval Faces, London, 2020, fig.32 (Saint Veronica and the Mandylion).

The sudarium or 'veil of Veronica' (or Mandylion of Edessa) is alleged to bear the image of Christ's face. The story of the image's origin refers to the sixth Station of the Cross, where Saint Veronica met Jesus along the Via Dolorosa to Calvary and wiped the blood and sweat from his face with her veil. She later travelled to Rome to present the cloth to the Roman Emperor Tiberius. The veil has been said to have healing properties.

With raised rim, nimbate bust of Christ in profile with long beard and shoulder-length hair, folded collar to the mantle; dove above with wings spread between sun and moon, each with a facing mask; inscription I.N.R.I. visible on either side of the portrait; mounted on a velvet-covered stand. 216 grams, 10.1 x 6.6 cm

with Pierre-Richard Royer, 2010.
Ex central London gallery.

Cf. Strong, R., 600 Years of British Painting: the Berger Collection an the Denver Art Museum, Exhibition catalogue, Denver, 1999, for history of the artefact; for a similar icon see a plaque in the Walters Art Museum, accession no.54.68.

The icon represents the profile bust of Christ found on a Byzantine emerald, whence it is known as an 'Emerald Icon'. The emerald was one of the several holy objects sent to Pope Innocent VIII in the 1490's by the Turkish Sultan Bajazet II. The icon was considered one of the Christianity's most precious relics. The letters "I N R I" stand for 'Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum,' i.e.' Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews' This is the inscription that, according to the Evangelist John, Pilate had written on the plaque above Christ's head on the cross. The sun and moon allude to the cosmic significance of his sacrifice.