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Details
LOT 0191
Byzantine Gold and Crystal Seal Pendant
6TH-7TH CENTURY A.D. OR LATER
1 1/8 in. (9.27 grams, 29 mm).
Composed of a tapering octagonal body, intaglio image of a robed and winged figure of Archangel Michael standing left, holding a Christian cross to base, granulated gold frame with suspension loop.
Provenance
From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11864-200658.
Literature
Cf. Ross, M.C., Catalogue of the Byzantine and Early Mediaeval Antiquities in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection, Volume 2: Jewelry, Enamels and Art of the Migration Period, Washington, 2005, pl.XCVIII, items 62,179, for similar engravings of an angel on a ring and a pendant; the same image appears on the coins of Anastasios I (491-518), see Wamser, L., Die Welt von Byzanz - Europas Östliches Erbe, München, 2004, item 44, 639 (ring).
Footnotes
The Roman motif of winged Victory bearing a laurel wreath was slowly replaced with the image of Archangel Michael carrying the victory cross when the Roman Empire converted to Christianity.
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