Bronze Statuette of Aphrodite

Substantial hoop with segmented profile, low-relief inscription 'MORTI NATUS EST' to the underside, flowers in the following open field, ellipsoid plaques to the shoulders with facing skull motifs, owl with spread wings on the bezel. 7.28 grams, 23.96 mm overall, 20.39 mm internal diameter (approximate size British R 1/2, USA 8 3/4, Europe 19.38, Japan 18)



Private collection, Arundel, West Sussex, UK, 1975-late 1990s.

The ring belongs to the memento mori (remember you shall die) ring type. Upon the bezel is engraved an owl, an animal symbol for the Other World. The inscription Morti Natus Est, means 'born to die' a reminder of fragility of life.

The tapering blade with a single cutting edge; replica leather scabbard decorated with 'fleur de lys' and wooden handle with bulbous guard and pommel. 229 grams, 36.5 cm long



From the collection of the famous author, writer and speaker, Gordon Bailey, Essex, UK; formed since 1968.

The term 'ballock dagger' was used in medieval times to describe a dagger with a grip bearing a considerable resemblance to a phallic symbol. It was also called 'kidney dagger' during the Victorian times. The constant characteristic is the presence of two roundish and symmetrical bulbs at the guard, with the grip itself emerging upward between them and flaring slightly towards the top, sometimes being surmounted by a cap.

By William Smith and Charles Eaton; obverse: robed figure with keys; reverse: two combatants with swords. 78 grams, 95 mm



From the collection of the famous author, writer and speaker, Gordon Bailey, Essex, UK; formed since 1968.

"Billy and Charlies", also known as the Shadwell forgeries, refer to a very extensive series of fake antiquities made in Victorian London by William Smith (Billy) and Charles Eaton (Charley). They were mudlarks who searched the Thames for items of value. William Edwards, a London antique dealer, made Billy's acquaintance around 1845, and he met Charley some years later. He paid them for items of interest that they found. Billy and Charley earned money from this until 1857, when they decided to counterfeit antiquities. They cast objects from lead or pewter, cutting dies into plaster of Paris moulds with nails and knives, and bathing the finished items in acid to simulate aging. Their commonest products were medallions, but others included daggers, statuettes, ampullae and even small shrines; as they were both illiterate the inscriptions on many of the objects are nonsense. They sold their forgeries to very prominent collectors of the time who thought they were genuine. Eventually, due to the large volume of objects that were appearing on the market, they were arrested and tried at court though they could not be found guilty of any crime at the time. They were released and carried on producing fakes but their style of manufacture had become well known and they eventually disappeared from history.