Loading, please wait...
LOT 0414
Elizabethan Gold Ring with Diamond Crystal
CIRCA 16TH CENTURY A.D.
1 in. (2.98 grams, 24.46 mm overall, 16.75 mm internal diameter (approximate size British L, USA 5 3/4, Europe 11.24, Japan 10)).
Composed of a quatrefoil bezel set with a point-cut diamond, raised and chased shoulders displaying volutes, billeting and pellets, with trace remains of black enamel.
ProvenanceAcquired 1990s-early 2000s.
East Anglian private collection.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.201075.
Cf. Scarisbrick, D., Rings: Jewelry Of Power, Love and Loyalty, Thames & Hudson, London, 2013, pp.306-307, for similar rings and diamonds; cf. The V&A Museum, accession numbers M.220-1975 and 934-1871, for broadly comparable examples.
FootnotesThe point-cut diamond was oftentimes used by the wearer to engrave a personal motto or message onto a pane of glass.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
-
Post Medieval Glazed Ceramic Flask
17th-18th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £7
Of lentoid form with one flat face, lug handles; chipped. 1.4 kg, 38 cm high
Acquired 1990s-early 2000s. East Anglian private collection. -
Ethiopian Magic Vellum Scroll of Walatta Maryam
Late 19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £390
Comprising three sheets joined together, bearing neat and regular lines of red and black inked script, together with associated images; the text including prayers for barya and evil eye, for Shotäläy and magical machination; the images representing two guardian angels at the top and bottom, Archangels Michael and Gabriel, within a geometric frame; at the bottom a picture of a jewelled cross with red triangles inserted within the arms; the owner's name given as Wällättä Maryam Beré. 56 grams, 1.97 m
Ex Adalberto Frezza, 2006. Ex central London gallery.
The sick looked upon such scrolls as it was believed that the images contained in them had healing powers. The scrolls were prepared by unordained clerics, or debatras, employed by Christian families, a practice which continued into the 20th century. Debatras were skilled at diagnosing the causes of illness, and treated them through scrolls such as that offered here, together with herbal and plant-based remedies; the images and prayers were believed to act on the spiritual source of the ailment, whilst the botanical remedies acted upon the physical symptoms. The scrolls covered the length of the afflicted person's body, providing preventative as well as curative protection and were often passed down through generations of the same family. The patients were often illiterate peasants, and the scrolls written in archaic Ge'ez, a liturgical language comprehended only by clerics; the debatras explained the prayers and the images to the sick. The images are designed to be mesmeric, the penetrating gaze of eyes from within the design giving them a sense of power. -
Marble Statuette of Bastet
20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £33
In Egyptian-style, modelled in the round with collar to the neck. 213 grams, 12.5 cm
Acquired in the 1990s. Ex private collection, West London, UK.
