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LOT 0382
Bronze Aquamanile with Horse and Rider
EARLY 19TH CENTURY A.D.
12 in. (5.6 kg, 30.5 cm high).
A bronze aquamanile portraying a mounted rider, both horse and rider modelled in the round with semi-naturalistic anatomical and facial features; the horse standing facing forwards, ears pinned back and with short tail; the male figure positioned with one hand on the reins, the other raised to eye level, wearing period costume and boots; rectangular vessel mouth behind horse's forelock with remains of hinge for a lid (absent), conical pouring spout to its lower chest; some splits; modelled on c.15th century German examples.
ProvenanceAcquired from St Marys Convent, Peekshill, New York.
From Emily Gagnon, Dallas, USA.
UK private collection, 2002.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11686-197726
Williamson, P., Wyvern Collection 'Medieval Sculpture', Thames and Hudson, 2018, p.361, cat.187.
LiteratureCf. The Metropolitan Museum, New York, accession number 47.101.54, for a similar 15th century A.D. example from Germany.
FootnotesThe practical function of the aquamanile was to pour clean water over the hands before dining, and in religious contexts to symbolically purify the body before undertaking communion. The origins of the form are often traced to the area of Iran, and it reached Western Europe through contacts with the Byzantine Empire.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0382
Bronze Aquamanile with Horse and Rider
Estimate £6,000 - 8,000€6,960 - 9,280 (for guidance only)$8,100 - 10,800 (for guidance only)
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Post Medieval Water Basin with Figures
19th-20th century A.D.Estimate: £800 - 1,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £400
A copper-alloy water basin held on the shoulders of two muscular nude male figures traversing a wooded landscape, animal skin shawls draped around their necks and shoulders; the basin carinated with a frieze of stylised floral roundels to the shoulder. 15.2 kg total, 39 cm high
English private collection. -
Post Medieval Glass Cameo Bust
19th century A.D.Estimate: £200 - 300 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £100
A glass cameo with bust of Medusa; imitating agate. 3.72 grams, 18 mm
Very fine condition.
Acquired Munich, Germany, late 1990s. Property of an East London gentleman. -
Post Medieval Relief with St Francis Scene
Italian, 18th century A.D. or laterEstimate: £1,200 - 1,700 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £600
A carved marble figural panel depicting a religious scene, probably St. Francis of Assisi receiving the Holy Stigmata; a kneeling figure in loose-fitting cowl and habit with knotted cord to the waist, arms spread and head raised towards a chiaroscuro sunburst with a figure at the centre, wearing a loincloth and affixed to a plain cross, borne up by three pairs of wings attached to the shoulders and thighs; below, a second, smaller figure holding a book; all in a landscape with a tree at right behind the larger figure; mounted on a custom-made stand. 75 cm high including stand
English private collection.
The scene probably represents the events just prior to the end of the life of St. Francis of Assisi: while he was praying on a mountain with his companion, Brother Leo, he is said to have had a vision of a seraph (a six-winged angel on a cross) which gave him the gift of the stigmata, the five wounds of Christ. The apparition caused a deterioration in Francis's health and no cure could be found, so the saint spent the remaining days of his life dictating his spiritual message to Leo, who preserved the record of these events.
