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LOT 0875
Byzantine Bronze Horse Harness Boss Pendant
15TH CENTURY A.D.
3 in. (28.6 grams, 75 mm).
Large domed centre with low-relief sun wheel design, pellets to the rim and suspension loop above. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.
LiteratureCf. Papanikola-Bakirtzi, D. (ed.), Everyday life in Byzantium. Byzantine Hours. Works and days in Byzantium, Exhibition catalogue, Thessaloniki, White Tower October 2001-January 2002, Athens, 2002, no.488, for similar.
FootnotesIn the late period of Byzantium, round-shaped buckles and horse harness mounts were often decorated with beaded edges and with floral embossed ornaments, under the influence of the Ottoman Turks. They have the shape of a small shield and impressed decoration of a rose. If belt appliques, they have an extra boss for attachment, instead of the loop usually attached to the horse harness pendants.
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AUCTIONS:
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Byzantine Bronze Reliquary Cross Pendant Plate
10th-12th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £260
The frontal section of an enkolpion, with the representation of crucified Jesus among Saint Mary and Saint John; Christ dressed in a long tunic (colobium) decorated with parallel stripes (clavi) and patterned hatches, his head turned to the right; his wounds on the cross are marked by nails; the cross standing upon a small hill, identified by rare inscription 'Ο ΤΟΠΟС КРАΝΙΟΥ' (a place of a skull, Matthew 27:33), indicating Golgota; the titulum with inscription 'Ι(ΗСΟΥ)С X(ΡΙ СΤΟ)C' (Jesus Christ), and the sun (left) with the moon (right); the central inscription corresponds to the words of the Gospel of John 19:26: 'here is your son, (ΙΔΕ Ο Υ {ΙΟ} С {C}ΟΥ ) here is your Mother (ΙΔΟΥ Η ΜΗΤ{Η}Ρ CΟΥ)'. 56.5 grams, 86 mm
Formerly in a 1980s collection. Acquired on the UK art market. Previously the property of an Essex gentleman.
Usually the reliquary crosses or enkolpia, were composed of two separate halves, inside of which a relic of a saint was contained; this could have been a piece of cloth or a bone. This extraordinary piece is very rare due to containing part of the Gospel of John about the Crucifixion. -
Byzantine Silver Cross Brooch
Circa 6th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £182
Shaped as an equal-armed cross, surface decorated with pellet-in-circles, catch and fastening pin on the back; polished. 5.27 grams, 28 mm
Acquired on the UK art market. Property of a Ruislip, UK, gentleman, by inheritance.
The cross fibulae was part of a Roman female costume in the Mediterranean and in the regions around the Mediterranean. They were used to close the cloak at chest height. -
Byzantine Decorated Leather Case
10th-12th century A.D. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £156
Rectangular leather case with turned and seamed end (vertical seam absent); reverse with tooled panels of foliage and tendrils in rectangular frames, obverse with large tooled rosette in a tondo on a hatched field with geometric frame. 130 grams, 45 cm
Acquired from the London trade. Ex central London gallery.
