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LOT 1116
Byzantine Bronze Ring with Saints
12TH-13TH CENTURY A.D.
1 in. (5.33 grams, 25.53 mm overall, 21.73 mm internal diameter (approximate size British O 1/2, USA 7 1/4, Europe 15.61, Japan 15)).
Comprising a D-section hoop and a hexagonal bezel with two stylised figures flanking a cross. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired on the UK and EU art market before 2000.
From the private collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.
See Teicu, D., Arta Minoră Medievală din Banat (Minor Medieval Art in Banat), Timisoara, 2009, pls.17,2 and 20,6, for type and iconography.
FootnotesThe bronze ring is compactly worked from a single bar. The ring link, hemispherical in section, broadens at the top, where the ring bezel was hammered. The decoration inscribed in the hexagon shows in the upper field a military saint, surrounded by lines running parallel to the hexagon, which form a further decorative element. The bezel of these rings was decorated with stylised images, very often military saints, who were asked for protection and blessing. They are usually represented as one or two human figures, schematically depicted, inscribed in a circle, decorating the bezel.
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AUCTIONS:
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Byzantine Gold Standing Female Pendant
7th-9th century A.D.Estimate: £2,500 - 3,500 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,250
Hollow-formed and modelled in the round, standing female wearing a palla around her hips, hands raised to her hair; applied mounting strip to reverse and wire stud to brow to mount a bead. 3.44 grams, 39 mm
UK private collection before 2000. Acquired on the UK art market. Private collection, London, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13138-248306.
The stance is based on the famous Venus Anadyomene image of the goddess emerging from the sea, as shown in the mosaic at Casa del Principe di Napoli in Pompeii. -
Byzantine Silver Archer's Thumb Ring
Circa 12th-15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £390
With narrow triangular flange, low-relief geometric designs, three hexagonal plaques. 17.11 grams, 39.50 mm overall, 22.88 mm internal diameter (approximate size British Z+2, USA 13 1/4, Europe 31.31, Japan 30)
From a Cambridgeshire, UK, collection, 1990s. -
Byzantine Bronze Ring with Warrior Saint
12th-13th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £85
D-section hoop with keeled shoulders, polygonal bezel with a stylised nimbate figure. 6.65 grams, 23.80 mm overall, 18.91 mm internal diameter (approximate size British Q 1/2, USA 8 1/4, Europe 18.12, Japan 17)
Acquired on the UK and EU art market before 2000. From the private collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.
This category of rings had a hexagonal-rounded chaton raised above the link. Conforming to the iconography of the Orthodox countries under the influence of Byzantium, the possible decoration was related to the military saints. The ring was made of bronze, most likely by casting.
