Byzantine Decorated Glass Bracelet Group

Biconvex in section with gold frame and beaded edge, ribbed loop above; reserved winged figure with processional cross. 4.66 grams, 25 mm



Private collection of Kal Noselson, New York, acquired between 1976 and the late 1990s; thence by descent. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.13425-259853.

The angel was probably taken from an original seal showing the Archangel Gabriel visiting Mary and then transformed into a pendant. The motifs on the stamp seals are predominantly religious in nature and include images of Christ and the saints, which could suggest that they were used for clerical purposes—perhaps in monasteries.

Comprising a flat-section shank with two lateral domed discs, each with pointillé detailing to the outer edge; similar larger finial; the shank with pointillé design, possibly an inscription 'ΩΜΝ[...]'. 20.9 grams, 77 mm



From a UK collection formed in the 1980s. Property of an Essex, UK, gentleman.

Broad and squat with carination to the exterior face, and a broad foot ring; cream glaze with sgraffito design of a delineated falcon in profile, surrounded by leafy branches and holding one of the branches in its hooked beak. 1.04 kg, 26.3 cm



Private collection (L.v.L.), Rhineland-Pfalz, Germany, acquired between 1960s-1980s.

In the Byzantine Empire, and even more so in the Islamic world, hunting falcons were a symbol of wealth and high status. The spectrum of designs in which they are to be found on 12th-century Byzantine pottery, in particular, offers a forceful testament both to the cultural reach of such vessels during the period and to the skill of the potters who were able to produce large numbers of beautifully worked slipware vessels destined for marine trade. The present example is likely to have been discovered in the late 1960's, when it is thought a 12th-century shipwreck laden with slipware vessels was excavated off the coast of Izmir.