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LOT 0364
Bourbon Era Gold Devotional Pendant with Verre Eglomise Miniatures of Saint Catherine of Alexandria and Saint John of Nepomuk
SPAIN, CIRCA 1700 A.D.
1 3/4 in. (29.1 grams, 43 mm).
Featuring a gold mount with twisted ropework border and scalloped edges securing bevelled glass coverings, one side depicting nimbate Saint Catherine of Alexandria wearing a pale blue dress with a red cloak, holding a gilt palm frond; the other side with Saint John of Nepomuk dressed in clerical attire and holding a gilt cross and a palm frond.
ProvenanceAcquired on the European art market.
FootnotesSaint Catherine of Alexandria was a Christian saint and virgin who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the Emperor Maxentius. She was both a princess and a noted scholar who became a Christian around the age of 14, converted hundreds of people to Christianity and was martyred around the age of 18. More than 1,100 years after Catherine's martyrdom, Joan of Arc identified her as one of the saints who appeared to and counselled her. Saint John of Nepomuk (c. 1345 – 20 March 1393) was the saint of Bohemia (Czech Republic) who was drowned in the Vltava River at the behest of Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia. Later accounts state that he was the confessor of the queen of Bohemia and refused to divulge the secrets of the confessional. Based on this account, John of Nepomuk is considered the first martyr of the Seal of the Confessional, a patron against calumnies and, because of the manner of his death, a protector from floods and drowning. Verre églomisé is a French term referring to the process of applying both a design and gilding onto the rear face of glass to produce a mirror finish. The name is derived from the 18th-century French decorator and art-dealer Jean-Baptiste Glomy (1711–1786), who was responsible for its revival. Glomy's technique was a relatively simple one of applying decorative designs in a combination of plain colour and gilding, usually to glass picture frames. However, over time, it has come to be used to describe nearly any process involving back-painted and gilded glass, however elaborate.
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LOT 0364
Bourbon Era Gold Devotional Pendant with Verre Eglomise Miniatures of Saint Catherine of Alexandria and Saint John of Nepomuk
Estimate £1,000 - 1,400€1,160 - 1,620 (for guidance only)$1,350 - 1,890 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£500 (EUR 580; USD 675) +BP*
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Post Medieval Engraved Silver Cross Pendant with Monogram
Late 19th-20th century A.D.Estimate: £80 - 100 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £30
Quatrefoil in plan with interstitial tags, central pelleted collar and dome; incised hatched rosette to each petal; copperplate monogram to reverse with 'FG'; with late 20th-century chain. 26 grams, 56.8 cm
Acquired on the UK art market before 2000. Property of an Essex, UK, gentleman. -
German Silver-Gilt and Enamelled Figure of a Sailor
Germany, 17th century A.D.Estimate: £700 - 900 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £350
The mariner modelled in a lively stance, holding a coiled rope in both hands, which falls in a naturalistic spiral at his feet, wearing a brimmed and gilt-edged cap, a red enamelled doublet with chased detail, and voluminous green enamelled trunk-hose, his boots and gloves parcel-gilt. 31.62 grams, 54 mm
Acquired on the European art market. -
Baroque Period Marble Frieze Depicting a River God
17th-18th century A.D.Estimate: £2,000 - 3,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £2,400
Depicted lying on a riverbed, leaning on his right side, his aged face framed by a rich, flowing beard, his wavy hair held back by a taenia; his body, naked and corpulent, is covered only by a light cloak wrapping his legs; his left hand is stretched forward, his right hand resting on a vase pouring water from the river; the figure stands out against a smooth, semicircular cut wall; mounted on an old collection marble base. 13 kg, 44.5 cm wide
With evidence of break along outer edges suggesting the fragment was once part of a larger composition or fountain. Areas of old glue remnants to the broken edge. The marble is stable, with age staining to the entire surface; minor chips throughout but generally in very good condition.
Previously in an old European collection, probably from the 18th/19th century, based on the old collection marble base and mounting technique. Private collection, France. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no. 13239-251810.
The representations of river or sea divinities usually depicted them in the same position, with naked torso wrapped only in a wide cloak, and usually bearded. The sculpture bears similarities with the sculpture of a river divinity, in the Archaeological Museum of Napoli (inv. 5977), from Rome and belonging to the Farnese Collection, from the second half of the 2nd century A.D.