Loading, please wait...
Details
LOT 1449
Byzantine Style Bronze Reliquary Cross Pendant
20TH CENTURY A.D.
4 1/8 in. (126 grams, 10.5 cm).
Hinged suspension loop, two recessed halves hollow to the reverse, low-relief figure in orans pose to the obverse, geometric ornament to the reverse. [No Reserve]
Provenance
Acquired 1980-1990s.
From the private collection of H.N., Milton Keynes, Bedfordshire, UK.
Literature
See Pitarakis, B., Les Croix-Reliquaires Pectorales Byzantines en Bronze, Paris, 2006, for original examples from the Eastern empire.
Footnotes
Usually the reliquary crosses or enkolpia, were composed of two separate halves, inside of which a relic of a saint was contained; this could have been a piece of cloth or a bone. The practice, in the Orthodox Church, is still in place today, sometimes by using reproductions of ancient styles, like our specimen, probably realised at the beginning of the last century.
CONDITIONVETTING:
TimeLine 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
AUCTIONS:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
RELATED LOTS
-
Bactrian Style Alabaster Jar
20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £33
Tubular in form rounded towards the flat base. 330 grams, 10 cm high
Ex London A.D. collection, 2000s. -
Stone Oil Lamp Group
20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £13
Group comprising: hand-carved stone zoomorphic oil lamp in the form of an animal (possibly a bear); a stone oil lamp decorated with flowers. 895 grams total, 11.7-13.4 cm
From an old Tonbridge private ethnographical collection. From the collection of a Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.
The vessels are hollowed out allowing it to serve as both fill hole and wick and the body is decorated with dot and circle and stylised plant incisions. -
Tudor Period Terracotta Flagon
16th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £104
With a tall, gently tapering body with circumferential ribbing and piecrust foot; tall ribbed neck and strap handle to the rear. 859 grams, 21.5 cm high
Acquired on the UK art market in the 1980s. From an East Anglian private collection.