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LOT 1897
Eastern Medieval Bronze Ring with Zoomorphic Design
11TH-12TH CENTURY A.D.
3/4 in. (2.49 grams, 21.31 mm overall, 18.52 mm internal diameter (approximate size British K1/2, USA 5 1/2, Europe 10.58, Japan 10)).
Flat-section hoop and discoid bezel with incused stylised animal. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFound Hampshire, UK.
Acquired on the UK and EU art market before 2000.
From the private collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.
Cf. Đurović, I., Средњовековни накит из збирки Народног музеја Крагујевац (Medieval jewelry from the collections of the National Museum Kragujevac, in Serbian), Крагујевац, 2012, fig.56, for the type.
FootnotesThese banded rings, made of bronze sheet with a flattened ellipsoidal bezel, could be decorated with geometric or animal ornaments executed by shallow carving. The animal repertoire was borrowed from the contemporary Romanesque art.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 1897
Eastern Medieval Bronze Ring with Zoomorphic Design
Sold for (Inc. bp): £46
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Medieval 'Thames' Iron Stylus
14th-16th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £39
With square-section tapering body and tubular finial. 4.38 grams, 75 mm
Found on the Thames foreshore, London, UK. Ex Cambridgeshire, UK, gentleman's collection. -
Medieval Inscribed Bronze Purse Bar
14th-15th century A.D.Estimate: £180 - 240 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £90
With niello-filled legend to the bar: 'AVE MARIA GACIA PLE' and to reverse 'A DOMINV TE CVM *'; central heater-shaped plaque with niello-filled 'W' to one face and 'IHS' monogram to reverse. 58 grams, 15.1 cm
Acquired on the European art market in the early 2000s. with Galerie Rhéa, Zurich, Switzerland. -
Medieval Gilt and Niello Hat Badge with Marriage of the Virgin
Italy, circa 1500 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,430
Niello plaque depicting the marriage ceremony between Mary and Joseph, set in a gilt brass mount with a rope twist border, four loops for attachment. 10.8 grams, 46 mm
Private collection, Europe. Acquired on the Belgian art market.
Niello is a black mixture, usually of sulphur, copper, silver and lead. It is used as an inlay on engraved or etched metal, especially silver. It is added as a powder or paste, then fired until it melts or at least softens and flows or is pushed into the engraved lines in the metal. Men began wearing hat ornaments on their caps from the late fifteenth century, which could be either purely decorative or symbolic. Symbolic examples are traditionally known as enseignes, as they conveyed the wearer’s personal intent or a visible message. These jewels trace their origins to the medieval pilgrim badge, usually mass-produced in base metal. It is believed that this fashion shift to a stylish male accessory began when French king Charles VIII entered Naples in February 1495, wearing a gold circular jewel on his cap, while his men had similar, though not gold, jewels on their caps or sleeves. Italians quickly adopted this trend, which then spread to most European courts. However, this fashion declined in the late sixteenth to early seventeenth century, giving way to the popularity of aigrettes.
