Civil War Period Gold Poison Ring

Each door a single board with graduated scalloped upper edge, horizontal wooden bars to the reverse, hand-forged iron hinge knuckles and D-section leader to left door; primed with tempera on both faces and painted on the obverse, each with a bottle-green field, blue-grey frontage with vermillion upper storey and gilt roof; Left Door: portion of city wall with tall, narrow building behind, balcony at the upper level with King David standing holding an unfurled scroll, wearing a gilt crown, vermillion tunic and blue mantle; before the wall a winged angel Gabriel holding a frond, wearing a draped mantle over ankle-length chiton and sandals; above, red painted legend 'BOUNA'; to the right edge, a D-section leader painted with red, white and blue diagonal stripes; Right Door: portion of city wall with tall, narrow building behind, balcony at the upper level with King Solomon standing holding a scroll and wearing a gilt crown, similar tunic and mantle to the other; dove descending towards Mary standing before the wall in front of a cushioned throne, with gilt nimbus around her head; red painted legend 'V E S T I R E' above; rare. 13.8 kg total, 132 x 34 cm each



Property of a London, UK, gentleman collector. Accompanied by a copy of a Romanian export licence. 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.12466-229954. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.

The 'royal doors' (Greek: Ωραία Πύλη) mark the entrance to the iconostasis (wooden screen hiding the altar) in an Eastern Orthodox church.

Squat in profile with integral looped scrolls and palmette ornament to the stub feet,hatched guilloche and wreath detailing to the body with ellipsoid plaques, broad mouth with rolled rim and broad pouring lip, scrolled handle with thumb-pad; stamped to underside '49 1/2', 'James Dixon & Sons / Sheffield', 'FPBM' (in cartouches) / 51675'. 323 grams, 14.5 cm



By repute from Highclere Castle from the 1950s onwards. Acquired from Newbury Antique Emporium. Property of a Berkshire, UK, gentleman collector. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.

Property of George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon (1866 -1923), who financed the exploratory excavations of Howard Carter which resulted in the discovery and publication of the tomb of the pharaoh Tutankhamen in the 1920s. On 19 March 1923 Carnarvon contracted blood poisoning after accidentally shaving a mosquito bite infected with erysipelas. He died a few days later on 5 April, in the Continental-Savoy Hotel in Cairo. This unexpected and untimely death gave rise to the story of the 'Curse of the Mummy'. He is buried in a tomb at Beacon Hill, Hampshire and the family lives in Highclere Castle nearby. Highclere is the location chosen for the filming of the BBC drama series 'Downton Abbey'.

Comprising: a short string of facetted oblate light blue beads, no clasp; prayer bead string with a tassel to the end. 171 grams total, 37-78 cm



Property of a Stockport, UK, collector. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.