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_900x900.jpg "Bronze Reliquary Cross Pendant with Dark Age Inscription to Reverse")
_200x200.jpg "Bronze Reliquary Cross Pendant with Dark Age Inscription to Reverse")
_900x900.jpg "Bronze Reliquary Cross Pendant with Dark Age Inscription to Reverse")
_200x200.jpg "Bronze Reliquary Cross Pendant with Dark Age Inscription to Reverse")
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LOT 1815
Bronze Reliquary Cross Pendant with Dark Age Inscription to Reverse
CIRCA 8TH-10TH CENTURY A.D.
2 7/8 in. (31.77 grams, 72 mm).
Of Byzantine type, obverse with low-relief Corpus Christi; reverse with enigmatic legend '[?] NIXIXIN'. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceEx R Ungar, Parthenon Gallery, London, UK, 2006.
From an important North London, UK, private collection.
The reverse may bear a blundered attempt at the 'INRI' legend, which appears in Byzantine and late Roman art, for Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum 'Jesus King of the Jews'.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 1815
Bronze Reliquary Cross Pendant with Dark Age Inscription to Reverse
Estimate £300 - 400€350 - 460 (for guidance only)$410 - 540 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£5 (EUR 6; USD 7) +BP*
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Merovingian Gold Earrings with Garnets
6th century A.D.Estimate: £2,500 - 3,500 (+bp*)
Bids: 2 | Current Bid: £2,000
Of circular form, each composed of a plain gold hoop terminating in a cube-shaped setting displayed upon panels of almandine garnet, carefully cut and backed with gold foil to enhance their translucency and depth of colour; the polygonal settings formed of intersecting gold struts. 21.44 grams total, 30-32mm
New York art market. Christie's, New York, 18 December 1998, no.316. with Ariadne Galleries, New York, acquired at the above sale. Private American collection, acquired from the above, 27 April 2016.
Collectively, these objects demonstrate the wide diffusion of this Ostrogothic type across the Mediterranean, highlighting both the technical mastery of cloisonné work and its symbolic value within elite Gothic adornment. Their integrity is exceptional for jewels of this period, and they would be suitable, if desired, for sympathetic adaptation with discreet loops for modern wear. The use of garnet inlaid into gold cells reflects the continuation of Late Roman cloisonné techniques, adapted and developed within the Ostrogothic world. Such earrings, with their bold cubic settings and luminous stones, would have projected wealth and status, while also embodying the cultural synthesis of Roman and Gothic traditions in Italy and the wider Mediterranean during the 6th century. Displayed upon a modern bespoke bronze stand, included with the earrings. -
Merovingian Bronze Ring with Antelope Facing Right
4th-6th century A.D.Estimate: £50 - 70 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Comprising a D-section hoop and a circular bezel with a stylised quadruped with long horns. 2.31 grams, 19.96 mm overall, 16.69 mm internal diameter (approximate size British L 1/2, USA 6, Europe 11.87, Japan 11)
From a UK collection formed in the 1980s. Property of an Essex, UK, gentleman. -
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Germanic Silver Radiate-Headed Bow Brooch
6th-8th century A.D.Estimate: £700 - 900 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £250
Comprising a D-shaped headplate with scrolled tendril fill and seven radiating knops; flattened bow above triangular foot plate with similar tendril motifs, profile bird-heads to each edge, lobe finial with facing mask; ferrous pin to reverse. 67 grams, 10 cm
From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.
