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LOT 0219
Byzantine Bloodstone Stamp Seal with Silver Mount
CIRCA 10TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.
1 in. (5.98 grams, 27 mm).
Pyramidal in form with openwork silver frame and loop above; frame with incised tremello detailing; underside with incuse Annunciation scene, robed Mary standing beside profile winged archangel Gabriel.
ProvenancePrivate collection of Kal Noselson, New York, acquired between 1976 and the late 1990s; thence by descent.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.13424-259842.
Cf. Wamser, L., Die Welt von Byzanz - Europas Östliches Erbe, München, 2004, item 706, for Annunciation scene, 712 for type.
FootnotesThe motifs on the stamp seals are predominantly religious in nature and include images of Christ and the saints, which could suggest that they were used for clerical purposes—perhaps in monasteries. The Annunciation is the most common festival scene found on rock-crystal seals.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0219
Byzantine Bloodstone Stamp Seal with Silver Mount
Estimate £2,000 - 3,000€2,320 - 3,480 (for guidance only)$2,700 - 4,050 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£1,000 (EUR 1,160; USD 1,350) ‡+BP*
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Byzantine Terracotta Sgrafitto Dish with a Falcon Among Leafy Branches
Perhaps Corinth, mid-12th century A.D.Estimate: £500 - 700 (+bp*)
Bids: 11 | Current Bid: £160
Broad and squat with carination to the exterior face, and a broad foot ring; cream glaze with sgraffito design of a delineated falcon in profile, surrounded by leafy branches and holding one of the branches in its hooked beak. 1.04 kg, 26.3 cm
Private collection (L.v.L.), Rhineland-Pfalz, Germany, acquired between 1960s-1980s.
In the Byzantine Empire, and even more so in the Islamic world, hunting falcons were a symbol of wealth and high status. The spectrum of designs in which they are to be found on 12th-century Byzantine pottery, in particular, offers a forceful testament both to the cultural reach of such vessels during the period and to the skill of the potters who were able to produce large numbers of beautifully worked slipware vessels destined for marine trade. The present example is likely to have been discovered in the late 1960's, when it is thought a 12th-century shipwreck laden with slipware vessels was excavated off the coast of Izmir. -
Byzantine Bronze Ring with Pink Cabochon
15th century A.D.Estimate: £40 - 60 (+bp*)
Bids: 2 | Current Bid: £10
With bezel of flattened conical form pierced at the base, inset glass cabochon. 5.55 grams, 26.50 mm overall, 16.85 mm internal diameter (approximate size British L 1/2, USA 6, Europe 11.87, Japan 11)
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s. -
Byzantine Bronze Ring with Cross Over Bust
6th-7th century A.D.Estimate: £50 - 70 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Slender hoop and integral square bezel, incuse beaded border enclosing profile Imperial bust flanked by columns, equal-arm cross above his crown. 2.63 grams, 24.45 mm overall, 21.12 mm internal diameter (approximate size British X, USA 11 1/2, Europe 26.29, Japan 25)
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s.
