Byzantine Gold Floral Pendant with Bead Drop

Comprising a discoid plaque with filigree rosette to the rim, applied foil leaves and central filigree rosette; wire loop below with carnelian dangle; suspension loop with lapis lazuli, glass and gold-granule collars. 3.1 grams, 53 mm



UK private collection formed before 2000. Ex North London, UK, gallery.

Carnelian cabochon in gold cell with ropework border, ribbed loop and chain sections; intaglio figure of Constantinople standing wearing full panoply of armour with crested helmet, holding an oval shield, a spear and supporting a globus cruciger; supplied with an impression of the seal and housed in a custom-made display case. 2.86 grams, 59 mm



Acquired in the late 1980s-early 1990s. Important North West London collection. 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.11933-210475.

The oval gem shows the personification of the new capital of the Roman Empire: Νέα Ρώμη, Constantinople, founded by Constantine the Great on the shores of the Bosphorus, on the site of the ancient Greek Megarese colony of Byzantium, on 11 May 330 A.D. The city was the new centre of the Roman Empire for the next 1123 years.

Substantial D-section hoop with applied ropework borders, loops for fastening clasp, six radiating garnet cabochons in claw settings with interstitial granules, ribbed loop to the apex. 2.71 grams, 17 mm



Ex European collection formed in the 1990s. Acquired from a North London gallery. Property of an Essex gentleman.