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LOT 1079
Byzantine Bronze Ring with Warrior Saint
12TH-13TH CENTURY A.D.
3/4 in. (3.24 grams, 21.62 mm overall, 18.18 mm internal diameter (approximate size British Q, USA 8, Europe 17.49, Japan 16)).
Hoop with angled shoulders, hexagonal bezel with a stylised nimbate warrior holding a long spear and a shield. [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 hoop, hemispherical in section, broadens at the top, where the hexagonal ring bezel was hammered. The decoration inscribed in the hexagon shows a military saint in the upper field, 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 Silver Bracelet Sections with Warrior Saint and Crucifixion
6th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £936
Two fragments from a military bracelet (brachiolion) comprising: a disc with double border of pellets, at the centre two standing figures of the two robbers flanking a stylised Stavrosis (crucifixion), composed of a stylised cross surmounted by the nimbate head of Christ; the other an ellipsoid panel and portion of the shank with pelta-shaped motifs flanking 'ICT' (IesouC Theou = Jesus son of God) legend, the panel with double border of pellets enclosing image of nimbate Saint George on horseback with scale armour and spearing the dragon with a long spear (doru). 9.67 grams total, 26 mm each
Ex private Dorset, UK, collection circa 1980s. Property of a London, UK, antiquarian. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.13042-248494.
The importance of the depicted subject, the Stavrosis or Crucifixion, lies in its rarity. We know of very few representations of this subject in the early period of Christian art. Since the 6th-7th centuries, the iconographic type of military saints on horseback, Saint George, Saint Demetrios, Saint Theodore and Saint Sisinnios appear in the artistic milieu of the Middle East at the end of the 5th century-early 6th century AD. Among this iconography, the figure of Saint George, killer of the Dragon, stood out. The warrior saint was represented armed like a true Christian warrior of the Roman Empire, and the style of his armament here, also for comparison with similar images, points to a 6th-7th century dating, a period when the Eastern Roman Empire was still at the height of its power and exerted its influence over Eastern and Western Europe. -
Byzantine Bronze Ring with S-Shaped Dragon
12th-15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £124
With hatched border to the tiered bezel, reserved S-scroll on a hatched field. 8.03 grams, 26.07 mm overall, 18.72 mm internal diameter (approximate size British R 1/2, USA 8 3/4, Europe 19.38, Japan 18)
Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman. -
Byzantine Silver Stamp Seal with Bird
6th-8th century A.D.Estimate: £120 - 170 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £60
Conical body with integral loop above, underside with a standing bird with hooked beak, pelletted field. 11.7 grams, 24 mm
Private collection, UK.
