Byzantine Terracotta Oil Lamp

Expanding arms and an integral suspension loop, the obverse with punched ring-and-dot decoration. 6.02 grams, 42 mm



Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.

Pyramidal in form with openwork silver frame and loop above; frame with incised tremello detailing; underside with incuse Annunciation scene, robed Mary standing beside profile winged archangel Gabriel. 5.98 grams, 27 mm



Private collection of Kal Noselson, New York, acquired between 1976 and the late 1990s; thence by descent. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.13424-259842.

The motifs on the stamp seals are predominantly religious in nature and include images of Christ and the saints, which could suggest that they were used for clerical purposes—perhaps in monasteries. The Annunciation is the most common festival scene found on rock-crystal seals.

With inscription '+ΘKEB / OΘTO / ΔΟΛΟ / ΤΘΛΑ' for 'ΘΕΟΤΟΚΕ ΒΟΗΘΕI ΤΩ ΔΟΥΛΩ ΤΟΥ ΘΕΟΥ ΛΑΔΕ' (Mother of God, help Lades, the servant of God). 13.1 grams, 18 mm



From an important collection formed before 1988, London and Geneva.

The stamp seals that have survived in large numbers from Byzantium are objects a few centimetres high and conical in shape, featuring a sealing surface at the lower end and a pendant at the upper end. They served the same function as signet rings and were used to seal everyday objects, primarily for personal purposes, using wax and other soft materials.