Byzantine Bronze Inscribed Cross Pendant

Discoid bezel incuse image of two facing busts with beaded headresses, legend 'ΘΕΟΥ' (belonging to god) below, later round-section hoop. 3.24 grams, 21.00 mm overall, 14.95 x 17.74 mm internal diameter (approximate size British L 1/2, USA 6, Europe 11.87, Japan 11)



Private collection, 1980s. Acquired on the UK art market. Private collection, London, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.13489-262461.

Some types of marriage rings exhibit schematic images of the couple in either formal bust form or full length. The bride and groom flank usually a cross and/or a figure of Christ, identifiable by his cruciform nimbus. Christ blesses the couple by joining their hands or by resting his own hands on their shoulders. Here the image of Christ is substituted by the inscription ‘of God’, with the meaning that the marriage is holy and belongs to God.

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.

Piriform oil lamp with low-relief leaf decoration. 58 grams, 89 mm



Ex J. Zadok & Sons, 18, King David Road, Jerusalem, Israel. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman; thence by descent. Accompanied by a certificate of antiquity issued by J. Zadok & Sons.