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LOT 0215
Byzantine Bronze Punch with Menorah and Hebrew Inscription
CIRCA 5TH-6TH CENTURY A.D.
1 1/4 in. (18.8 grams, 31 mm).
Columnar stem with conical base extending to a square-section shank.
ProvenanceFrom the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.
LiteratureCf. Friedenberg, D.M., ‘The Evolution and Uses of Jewish Byzantine Stamp Seals’, in The Journal of the Walters Art Gallery, vol. 52/53, 1994/1995, pp.16ff., nos. 19-21.
FootnotesStamping in antiquity and in the Roman Empire was under strict regulations, and it was not limited to food and liquid containers. Bricks and tiles used in construction were impressed with the names of magistrates, workshops, estate owners from whom the material came, and the names of individual makers. Among the myriad Late Roman stamps, a great number were to mark bread or containers holding flour and other foods, as well as a variety of liquids such as wine, oil, fish and fruits preserved in sauces, medical ointments, and even water. It is interesting to note as the Jewish symbols here engraved are very stylised: as mentioned by various scholars, the Jewish representations of shofar and lulav on this category of stamps degenerated in quality in Late Antiquity, and this is why they are variously dated between the 4th and the 7th century.
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LOT 0215
Byzantine Bronze Punch with Menorah and Hebrew Inscription
Estimate £900 - 1,200€1,040 - 1,390 (for guidance only)$1,220 - 1,620 (for guidance only)
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Byzantine Bronze Empress Mount
5th-6th century A.D.Estimate: £1,000 - 1,400 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £500
Formed in the half-round as a youthful female bust, a cross in the middle of the high hair arrangement (propoloma). 192 grams, 97 mm
Ex law professor in Alexandria, prior to 1930. Ex collection of M. Bouvier, Switzerland (1901-1980). Private collection, UK.
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 A.D. and the rank of Augusta in 324 A.D. 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. -
Byzantine Lead Cross Collection
6th-15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £85
Including equal-arm, expanding-arm and other types; offered with a lead finger-ring master. 85 grams total, 18-41 mm
Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman. -
Byzantine Terracotta Oil Lamp
5th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £39
Slipper-shaped in plan with lug handle, raised rim to the filler hole, broad shoulder with raised herringbone pattern, stub nozzle. 41 grams, 80 mm
From the Lloyd and Jeanne Raport collection, Washington, D.C. and Florida, USA, formed between 1972-2000. Acquired through Bonhams, London, UK.
