With openwork braid detailing to the hoop, spiral finials above and zigzag band behind the rim with granule clusters, row of loops each with an articulated chain and attached jingle; Finno-Ugric type. 157 grams, 15 cm

From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Cf. Sedov, B.B., Finno-Ugri i Balti v Epokhi Srednevekovija, Moscow, 1987, pl.XXIX, item 19, for type.

Comprising a rectangular iron block with striking face mounted in a bifacial openwork bronze handle formed as two large ravens perching with necks bent over a central figure. 40 grams, 61 mm

From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Cf. Arbman, H., Birka I: Die Gräber, Uppsala, 1940, pl.144.

Each a tongue-shaped plaque with openwork construction, ribbed tubes to the upper edge with loops to the reverse, braided wire and concentric circle detailing; rim formed as loops each with a duck-foot pendant; Finno-Ugric type. 255 grams total, 10.5-10.9 cm

From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Cf. Sedov, B.B., Finno-Ugri i Balti v Epokhi Srednevekovija, Moscow, 1987, pl.XXIX, item 19, for type.

Comprising a hefty hoop with scooped upper face, alternating applied skulls and crossed bones on the upper face decorated with white enamel, the eyes, noses and mouths of the skulls set with diamonds(?). 10.99 grams, 27.06 mm overall, 15.95 mm internal diameter (approximate size British K 1/2, USA 5 1/2, Europe 10.58, Japan 10)

Private collection of a North London lady before 2000.
Property of a London, UK, gentleman.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12771-237884.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Cf. PAS no. HESH-23A8A2, for similar.

The memento mori jewellery of the 16th and 17th centuries served as wearable ‘reminders of mortality’. Typical motifs within this genre included skulls, skeletons, crossbones, hourglasses, coffins, the gravedigger’s pick and shovel, and various other emblems of death and decay.

Flat-section hoop with applied cell formed as a cushion with four radiating knops on the shoulder, open top revealing inset irregular polished garnet. 7.98 grams, 33.09 mm overall, 23.73 mm internal diameter (approximate size British Z+3, USA 13 3/4, Europe 32.57, Japan 31)

Acquired on the European art market in the 1990s.
UK collection of a European gentleman.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Cf. Chadour, A.B., Rings. The Alice and Louis Koch Collection, volume I, Leeds, 1994, item 567, for a more ornate example of the type.

A pair of copper or brass gilt plaques with openwork representation of two nimbate Evangelists, holding a gospel with the left hand, the right hand raised for blessing and manifestation of the divine and human nature of God, appliques for a belt or a personal ornament, four fastening holes at the corners. 13.80 grams total, 61 mm eachFine condition.

Ex central London gallery; acquired on the UK art market.
From the private collection of John Meredith, acquired since the 1990s; thence by descent.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

See Popović, D., Riznica spasenja. Kult relikvija i srpskih svetih u srednjovekovnoj Srbiji /The Treasury of Salvation. The Cult of Relics and Serbian Saints in Medieval Serbia, Beograd, 2018.

The medieval Kingdom of Serbia was in its material culture strongly under the influence of Byzantium, but had also undergone cultural and artistic developments from western countries. The decoration - especially the technique of filigree and granulation, and the ornamental motifs and their composition - shows some similarities both to the Byzantine and to the Western gold work of the 11th–13th century. The openwork decoration of these objects is similar to the foliage represented on one sarcophagus positioned against the south wall of the church of St Demetrius, in the Patriarchate of Peć, dated to the 14th century AD.

Matched pair, each formed as a ring enclosing a natural irregular pearl above a tongue-shaped arched panel with two strands of smaller pearls, band of filigree coils to the outer edge, teardrop dangle below with pearl to the centre; hoop and catch to the reverse. 7.81 grams total, 58-60 mm

Ex Georgie Chrischilles.
Private collection, London.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Slender hoop with raised shoulders leaves displaying leaves and volutes, quatrefoil bezel with stepped edges and set with a point-cut diamond crystal. 4.19 grams, 27.25 mm overall, 17.52 mm internal diameter (approximate size British O, USA 7, Europe 14.98, Japan 14)

Private collection of a North London lady before 2000.
Property of a London gentleman.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12754-236647.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Cf. Scarisbrick, D., Rings: Jewelry Of Power, Love and Loyalty, Thames & Hudson, London, 2013, pp.306-307, for similar rings and diamonds; cf. The V&A Museum, accession numbers M.220-1975 and 934-1871, for broadly comparable examples.

This type ring seems to have been very popular in Renaissance Europe during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Numerous parallels and portraits give evidence for this fashion. Similar ring types are in the National Museum of Bargello, Firenze, and Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

With plain circular hoop with circular cross-section, attached to the shoulders of the pentagon-shaped bezel and set with natural cobalt blue polished stone, possibly a cabochon sapphire; the hoop professionally straightened and re-joined. 2.01 grams, 24.17 mm overall, 20.02 mm internal diameter (approximate size British R, USA 8 1/2, Europe 18 3/4, Japan 18)

Found whilst searching with a metal detector near Caunton, Newark and Sherwood, Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, by David Dillon on Thursday 19th May 2022, declared as Treasure and disclaimed by the Crown with Treasure case no.2022 T752.

Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report no.DENO-23C183.
Accompanied by a letter from the finder describing the circumstances of finding.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12899-237641.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Cf. Egan, G. & Pritchard, F., Dress Accessories 1150-1450, London, 2002, item 326, fig.215, no.1612, in particular; and other examples recorded with the Portable Antiquities Scheme with reference nos.BERK-57430E (2019 T158), DUR-602602 (2019 T35), and HAMP-6C5109 (2017 T761).

With hatched balusters to the shoulders, dentilled plaque with inset conical glass stud. 4.01 grams, 23.57 mm overall, 17.17 mm internal diameter (approximate size British M, USA 6, Europe 12.46, Japan 12)

Ex German art market, 2000s.
Acquired from an EU collector living in London.
From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

With a gold flat-section hoop, bezel formed as two hands supporting a heart, a flower ornament to each shoulder with traces of white enamel. 3.24 grams, 21.13 mm overall, 18.50 mm internal diameter (approximate size British O 1/2, USA 7 1/4, Europe 15.61, Japan 15)

From an old European collection, 1990s.
From a Cambridgeshire, UK, private collection.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

The fine craftsmanship and design suggest it could have been a ring commemorating the wedding of Charles II and Catherine of Braganza in 1662.

Hollow-formed perching bird filler-hole to top of head and spout in beak; openwork tail with scroll detailing; hatched borders to feathers. 670 grams, 11.9 cm

From the Minervino Gabardi collection.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12837-240227.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

For comparison see Franco Maria Ricci, Aquamanili: medieval objects for sacred and profane use, fig. 25, for a similar model in the shape of a rooster, Lower Saxony manufacture, mid-13th century,

Exhibited at the Museum Für Kunsthandwerk, Frankfurt, Germany.