Byzantine Bronze Oil Lamp Stand

A miniature tzikourion comprising a crescentic blade with long neck, flared socket and leaf-shaped blade to the rear; gilt surface with reserved florid and tendril detailing, stylised cross to the flared socket. 28.88 grams, 10.9 cm



Private collection formed in Europe in the 1980s. Westminster collection, central London, UK. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no. no.12340-225024.

It is possible that this axe was used as a status symbol for officers or their family. The axe was known to be a symbol of the Varangian Guard who protected the emperor.

Comprising a flat-section hoop with a starburst motif to the base; openwork shoulders and a square bezel with a pellet to each corner, the bezel engraved with foliate motifs. 3.65 grams, 19.99 mm overall, 18.00 mm internal diameter (approximate size British L, USA 5 3/4, Europe 11.24, Japan 10)



Acquired from London galleries during the 1990s. From the jewellery collection of a London, UK, gentleman. Accompanied by a previous typed cataloguing card.

Some rings from the Balkan territories of the Eastern Empire (for example the ring from Dobrača) bear a square thickened bezel engraved with schematic representations. What sets them apart are the widened shoulders emphasised by a plastic rib and the raised and flattened head, which places them in the group of rings which dates mainly to the 11th century (from the end of the 10th to the first decades of the 12th century).

Comprising two hinged plates and articulated suspension loop with hatched decoration; the obverse with Corpus Christi and four busts of the evangelists; the reverse blank flat-section plate, two rivets through the cross. 47.6 grams, 80 cm



Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of Surrey, UK, gentleman.