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LOT 0853
Byzantine Bronze Inscribed Vessel Rim
CIRCA 6TH-8TH CENTURY A.D.
6 in. (257 grams, 15 cm wide).
Sub-circular in form, displaying an inscription in raised Greek lettering to the upper and side faces; pierced for attachment; the main inscription on the border should be read 'Μ ΔΗΜ ΞΕΙΖΟΓ ΒΛΙΑ TΟΥ ΛΙΟΥΚΟΥ ΑΔΡΑΤΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΥΠΑΤΙΚΟΥ' = M(ichail) Dem(etrios) Exizoglos to the consularis Ioulios Quadratos.
ProvenanceEx Simmons Gallery, London E11, UK, in the 1990s.
From a North London collection.
Cf. a small bronze tripod stand in the Archaeological Museum of Delphi, inv. 8404.
FootnotesThe vessel was probably part of a gift given by a certain Michail Demetrios to an officer of (ΥΠΑΤΙΚΟΥ) i.e. Consularis Rank. The shape recalls that of small tripods stands.
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AUCTIONS:
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Byzantine Bronze Horse Harness Boss Pendant
15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £78
Large domed centre with low-relief sun wheel design, pellets to the rim and suspension loop above. 28.6 grams, 75 mm
From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.
In 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. -
Byzantine Bronze Cross Pendant
9th-12th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £52
With remains of notch detailing to the outer edges of the arms, two links of the suspension chain. 2.58 grams, 38 mm
Ex DRG Coins and Antiquities, Essex, UK. Ex private Merseyside, UK, collection. -
Byzantine Bronze Empress Mount
5th-6th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,040
Formed in the half-round as a youthful female bust, a cross in the middle of the high hair arrangement (propoloma). 193 grams, 97 mm
Ex Law Professor in Alexandria, prior to 1930. Ex collection M. Bouvier, Switzerland (1901-1980).
The image of the Roman Empress during the late Roman Empire, was connected to Christianity by the figure of the Empress Helena. Constantine had several cities renamed Helenopolis in honour of his mother, Helena, and she gained the political verification of power with the status nobilissima femina in 318 and the rank of Augusta in 324. Alongside her social and political image, Helena also had a significant reputation as a good Christian who was a patron and took care of poor people. Owing to this powerful religious image that was created, all other Christian women during the Eastern Roman Empire were encouraged spiritually by the fact that Helena was the mother of the first Christian emperor, and the image of the Roman empress was connected to the Christian image of the Mother of God, and represented on weights, bronze appliques and, in this case, maybe as an upper mount of a tripod.
