Cylinder Seal Electrotype Group

Round-section hoop supporting a discoid bezel, claw setting with inset 'toadstone' amulet. 4.53 grams, 29.85 mm overall, 20.51 mm internal diameter (approximate size British T, USA 9 1/2, Europe 21.26, Japan 20)



Private collection, Europe. Acquired on the French art market. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.13074-248390.

William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, circa. 1599; ‘Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears a precious jewel in his head yet’. Toadstones are mythical stones that were thought to be found inside the head of a toad. They were believed to sweat, change colour or even heat up in the presence of poison. It was thought that a toadstone placed on bites from snakes, insects, spiders and shrews would extract poison from the wound. They were thought to bring good luck and ward off evil, whether in the present life or in the afterlife. The Book of Secrets from the 13th century recommends swallowing the stone to 'cleanse the bowels of filth and excrements'. The stone could then be retrieved and used again. They were often set as amulets and talismans, a practice that continued in Europe until the 18th century. Toadstones are actually the button-like fossilised teeth of Lepidotes, an extinct genus of fish common in the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods, 200 to 100 million years ago.

Ten restrung mainly cream and beige-coloured rondelle, tubular and ribbed beads, and other types. 83 grams total, 74 cm each



Ex property of a UK gallery, early 2000s.

Restrung group of annular and tabular beads with a teardrop-shaped pendant. 27 grams, 31.3 cm



From London, UK, gallery collection, 1990s.