Elizabethan Gold Cross Pendant

A portable wooden diptych icon depicting Bet Giyorgis on horseback on the left, dressed in red mauve riding coat, green cloak and carrying a shaft with iron head; on the right the Nativity scene with Virgin and the Child escorted by the angels. 562 grams, 20 x 15.5 cm



Acquired on the London art market, 2006. UK private collection.

The presence of angels dressed in western garments, the uncovered head of the Virgin and the swords of the angels, could suggest that the diptych is strongly influenced by Italian Renaissance painters. However, the chopping tool used here is particularly Ethiopian, as is the depiction of the Virgin and Child, lacking the care visible in Ethiopian works copied from Italian paintings. Ethiopian paintings influenced by European art can be split into two groups according to Stanislaw Chojnacki: paintings that directly relate to an identified painting, and paintings which borrow themes and details from Western art. In both, however, the Western forms have been simplified to the Ethiopian mode of expression. The horse harness can suggest dating to 16th-17th century A.D.

A gold finger ring with pie-dish bezel and pellets to the rim, inset sardonyx with intaglio female bust. 5.75 grams, 26.60 mm overall, 17.78 mm internal diameter (approximate size British O 1/2, USA 7 1/4, Europe 15.61, Japan 15)



English private collection.

A gold posy ring with rectangular-section hoop in the form of a buckled belt with looped end tie and chape with double-bowed and pinned buckle, the outer face inscribed '+HOPE * IS * MI HOLDE' in Roman capitals, continuing 'TILL * HAP * SHALL * HELPE' around the interior; accompanied by a vintage ring box. 2.76 grams, 19.17 mm overall, 16.63 mm internal diameter (approximate size British M, USA 6 1/4, Europe 12.34, Japan 12)



Found whilst searching with a metal detector near Hursley, Hampshire, UK, on Sunday 26th August 2012. Acquired from Berganza, Hatton Garden, London, 2017. Property of an East Sussex collector. Disclaimed under the Treasure Act with reference no.2012 T805. Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme report no.HAMP-62C152. Accompanied by a copy of the Berganza invoice. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11667-197581.

The inscription is somewhat enigmatic and does not seem to have been previously recorded for a posy ring; the form of the buckle and the knopped chape are typical of examples seen, often in base metal, from the late medieval period to the 16th century A.D. The name of this genre of ring is derived from the 'poesy' or motto usually engraved around the hoop. In medieval examples the posy is mostly engraved around the outside of the hoop but later examples find it on the inner surface. Rings with amatory inscriptions have their origins in the 14th century A.D., when they served as love gifts, betrothal and wedding rings, as attested by surviving documentary evidence. Posy rings were also given to friends or used to mark significant occasions.