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LOT 1017
Byzantine Set of Engraved Bronze Weights
CIRCA 6TH-12TH CENTURY A.D.
5/8 - 3/4 in. (26.19 grams total, 17-20 mm).
Comprising three discoid weights with recessed upper face, two with incised cross above and 'N B' flanking the central boss, one with 'N B' and pellets above and below. [3]
ProvenanceAcquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.
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AUCTIONS:
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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. -
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Byzantine Porphyry Relief with Cross Surrounded by Two Birds
Southern Italy or Constantinople, 11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £28,600
An imposing panel divided to four sections by a central cross on a stepped pedestal, the lower and upper arm with branch-like extensions; the upper quadrants with a circlet surrounding a palm tree-shaped motif; each lower quadrant with a bird in profile facing back; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 16 kg total, 44.5 cm including stand
Private collection, London, UK. 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 search certificate number no.12179-221676.
The cross, symbol of resurrection and salvation, carried the meaning of Paradise, and a cross on a stepped base derived from that on Golgotha. The birds represented here are probably a symbol of joy of the afterlife, of paradise conceived as the locus refrigerii or refrigerium of the soul. The panel could have been part of a marble iconostasis of a Church of the Eastern Roman Empire, in Southern Italy, although the use of porphyry can suggest a Constantinopolitan provenance. -
Byzantine Gold Star Ring
Circa 13th-14th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £780
Composed of a slender carinated hoop adorned with filigree supporting a hollow-formed star-shaped bezel set with central polished cabochon garnet and granules, each of six arms pierced, remaining granule to one shoulder. 1.76 grams, 23.61 mm overall, 20.80 mm internal diameter (approximate size British S 1/2, USA 9 1/4, Europe 20.63, Japan 19)
Acquired 1990s-early 2000s. East Anglian private collection.
