Byzantine Bronze Reliquary Cross Pendant

Expanding arm cross with low-relief Corpus Christi and integral suspension loop. 4.69 grams, 41 mm



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

Enkolpion with hinged and ribbed loop; low-relief nimbate figure to obverse with 'ICXC NHKA' legend beneath the arms; robed figure in orans pose to reverse with 'MPΦV' legend above. 61.8 grams, 98 mm



Ex Den of Antiquity, Cambridge, UK. From the private collection of a West London, UK, gentleman, formed since the early 2000s. Accompanied by a typed dealer's ticket.

Large lamp with high pointed body, a partial knob handle and a small filling hole outlined by a ridge; another ridge extending toward the wick-hole, creating a 'channel' decorated with a line; rim divided into two bands, the outer one filled with tondo with birds, the inner one decorated with a stylised cross and geometric pattern on the nozzle. 142 grams, 10 cm



From the collection of Mr W.A. Stewart, Director of School of Arts and Crafts, Cairo, 1919-1929. Acquired Christie's, London, Antiquities, Works of Art and Important Renaissance Bronzes, Plaquettes and Limoges Enamels, 8 July 1981, no.126 (part). From a private Wiltshire, UK, collection. Accompanied by a copy of the relevant Christie's catalogue page.

This type of lamp is a precursor of the early Islamic channel-nozzle lamp, which has a tongue handle. The small knob handle indicates an earlier date, while the channel implies a later date. The lamp, in correspondence with similar lamps found in Israel, can be dated to the 6th-7th century A.D., belonging to the eastern Roman culture or even to the early Islamic period.