Byzantine Bronze Ring with Bust

Enkolpion with hinged suspension bar, each face with nimbate robed figure in orans pose with four busts surrounding. 49 grams, 94 mm



Ex DRG Coins and Antiquities, Bishops Stortford, Essex, UK. From the private collection of a West London, UK, gentleman, formed since the early 2000s. Accompanied by a handwritten ticket.

With D-section hoop supporting a discoid bezel with decoratively notched circumference; possibly later engraved with a menorah. 2.34 grams, 18.62 mm overall, 17.24 x 15.16 mm internal diameter (approximate size British J 1/2, USA 5, Europe 9.32, Japan 9)



North American collection, 1990s-2000s. Ex property of a Surrey gentleman.

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.