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LOT 1006
Byzantine Decorated Bronze Buckle
6TH-7TH CENTURY A.D.
1 5/8 in. (26.5 grams, 41 mm).
Kidney-shaped in plan with segmented loop, curved tongue with rectangular shield, incised zigzag and pseudo-script.
ProvenanceFrom the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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Byzantine Bronze Cross Pendant with Overlapping Bars
6th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £52
With pierced polyhedral upper and knop above, body formed as two intersecting fusiform bars with recess. 32.8 grams, 66 mm
Belgian collection, 1980s. From the collection of an London antiquarian. -
Byzantine Cosmatesque Mosaic Panel
11th-13th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,560
Recalling workmanship similar to that found in the floor of the Sistine Chapel and other important Roman churches; comprising a stepped rectangular panel with white marble border, square blocks with cross fourchée motifs on porphyry and other fields; mounted on a custom-made stand. 1.06 kg, 38.5 cm wide (1.4 kg total including stand)
French gallery, Paris, 1990s. From a family collection, London, UK.
The Cosmatesque style was a characteristic type of ornamentation of Eastern Roman origin (opus alexandrinum) used by the Roman marble makers of the 12th and 13th centuries AD. It embellishes floors, ciboriums and cloisters of churches by means of polychrome marble inlays of varied and imaginative geometric shapes. The wider use of this decoration began in the 12th century, at which time techniques were improved: the Cosmati floors were made with pieces of stone cut in various shapes and sizes, a property quite different from the mosaics in opus tessellatum, in which the motifs were made from small units all having the same size and shape, or from the opus sectile, intended to create representations with pieces of multicoloured marble cut out and arranged for this purpose. The stones used by Cosmati artists were often material salvaged from the ruins of ancient Roman buildings. -
Byzantine Silver Swan-Necked Spoon with Cross
5th-7th century A.D.Estimate: £1,800 - 2,400 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,000
Shallow piriform bowl attached to a stepped baluster, hexagonal-section handle with spike finial; engraved cross potent to either side of the junction. 46 grams, 22.7 cm
French private collection. Acquired on the French art market in 2011. Acquired by the present owner at the above. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12240-222347.
The lateral incised cross motifs suggest that the spoon may have had a liturgical purpose, possibly associated with baptism.