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Details
LOT 0988
Byzantine Bronze Openwork Key
CIRCA 8TH-10TH CENTURY A.D.
3 3/8 in. (59 grams, 87 mm).
Formed with a hollow bow open to the sides and with lateral struts, each plate pierced with seven equal-arm crosses; pierced lug above for suspension; barrel-type shank with rectangular bit pierced with two similar crosses. [No Reserve]
Provenance
From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000.
From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.
Literature
Cf. Pall, M., Schlüssel und Schlösser, Graz, 2012, items 4267, 7399, for type.
Footnotes
The repeated use of the cross symbol may indicate an ecclesiastical use.
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AUCTIONS:
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