Elizabethan Gold Cross Pendant

A copper-alloy water basin held on the shoulders of two muscular nude male figures traversing a wooded landscape, animal skin shawls draped around their necks and shoulders; the basin carinated with a frieze of stylised floral roundels to the shoulder. 15.2 kg total, 39 cm high



English private collection.

A tempera on wood Anastasis icon with a large central panel surrounded by twelve smaller scenes representing the twelve feasts of the Orthodox church; the central image depicting Christ‘s descent into Hell and Resurrection, the smaller scenes depicting, clockwise from top left: the birth of the Virgin Mary; the presentation of the Virgin Mary to the temple; the Annunciation; the Nativity; the presentation of Christ to the temple; the Epifania (Baptism); the entrance to Jerusalem; the Metamorphosis (Transfiguration); the Exaltation of the Holy Cross; the Ascension; the Holy Trinity (the Pentecost); and the Dormition of the Virgin; inscriptions to the outer border; some restoration. 3.1 kg, 44.5 x 37 cm



Property of a London lady, part of her family's collection.

The Greek term Dodekaorton (Δωδεκαόρθον) designates the twelve most important holidays of the Orthodox Christian liturgical year. They are divided into fixed date holidays and variable date holidays (calculated in relation to Easter). A second division is between the feasts dedicated to Mary and those dedicated to Christ. Each holiday is represented by an image (icon) encoded according to the interpretation of the Holy Scriptures. On the day of the celebration, the corresponding icon is placed on a lectern in the center of the church.

A bronze lamp with broad discus and volute nozzle flanked by two horns; raised rim to the discus, concentric rings to the underside; long recurved handle with bifid connection to the body, developing to a eagle-head finial with curved beak and feather detailing. 140 grams, 12 cm



Acquired in Munich in the 1970s. From an old European collection.