Byzantine Silver Offering Dish with Chi Rho and Inscription

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.

With sloping walls and a thin everted rim, the interior of the vessel engraved with a scene comprising four nimbate Evangelists around a central figure of beardless Christ, each holding a gospel in the right hand, the left hand raised to make the sign of blessing; the four Evangelists each depicted beneath an arch with a Corinthian column flanking, the body of the column decorated with fish-scale motifs. 418 grams, 29.2 cm

Fine condition.

Private German collection since the 1980s. Acquired on the German art market in 2001. Property of a gentleman. 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 no.10940-181731.

This vessel belongs to a well-known type of rich liturgical objects, likely produced in the workshops of the Imperial capital, Constantinople, although the style used to present Christ and the Evangelists in this artwork points to an important provincial craftsman, certainly influenced by Islamic and Persian iconography. Patens and chalices were the essential containers for the bread and wine of the Divine Liturgy (Eucharist) in Byzantium.

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.