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LOT 0209
Byzantine Gold Ring with Saint
CIRCA 6TH-8TH CENTURY A.D.
7/8 in. (2.28 grams, 22.27 mm overall, 18.19 mm internal diameter (approximate size British O 1/2, USA 7 1/4, Europe 15.61, Japan 15)).
D-section hoop with domed square bezel, incuse bust with mantle draped from the right shoulder, cross to one side, lateral bands of punched pellets.
ProvenanceEx collection of a late Christian gentleman, 1970s
LiteratureCf. Chadour, A.B., Rings. The Alice and Louis Koch Collection, volume I, Leeds, 1994, item 448.
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
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Byzantine Terracotta Oil Lamp
5th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £39
Slipper-shaped in plan with lug handle, raised rim to the filler hole, broad shoulder with raised herringbone pattern, stub nozzle. 41 grams, 80 mm
From the Lloyd and Jeanne Raport collection, Washington, D.C. and Florida, USA, formed between 1972-2000. Acquired through Bonhams, London, UK. -
Byzantine Bronze Pendant Cross
6th-8th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £104
Expanding-arm type with integral loop. 2.07 grams, 24 mm
Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman. -
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.
