Enamelled Gold Hawking Whistle

With blue enamel and framed by a raised border; Saint Julitta and her son, Cyricus, Saint Gregory the Theologian and Saint John the Chrysostom standing beside them at the centre; three half-length figures above: St. Paraskeva (right), Eudokia, and Barbara (left); OCS inscriptions identifying the saints framing the scene; on the top a deesis, with Christ Pantokrator at the centre, flanked by Saint Mary and Saint John the Precursor; at the top left corner Archangel Michael, on the top right corner the Archangel Gabriel; beneath Saint Gabriel, in vertical order, Saint Paul, Saint Gregory the Theologian, Saint Nicholas of Myra, Saint Demetrios; beneath Saint Michael, in vertical order, Saint Peter, Saint Basil the Great, Saint John Chrysostomos and Saint George; in the last row, nearby Saint Andrew, at the centre, the Archangel Raphael, with sword and cross. 360 grams, 14 cm



Acquired from Chris Martin-Zakheim, Iconastas, 5 Piccadilly Arcade, London SW1. From the private collection of a West London, UK, gentleman, formed since the early 2000s.

This icon was intended for private devotion, often carried by pilgrims and Orthodox believers for spiritual protection. St. Julyttas and her son Cyricus (Ки́рик и Иули́тта), among the most venerated figures in Russian tradition, are depicted in the centre, surrounded by other saints, a symbol of the communion of the righteous in front of the Divine Deesis.

D-section hoop with oval cartouche flanked by elongated mouldings with pointed ends; cartouche with a skull, the mouldings on each side decorated with double rows of incised cross hatching; inscription on the internal surface with a maker's mark reading: 'Death calls man falls, prepare L..D.' followed by the maker's mark, a heater shield with indistinct liner design. 1.95 grams, 18.94 mm overall, 16.39 mm internal diameter (approximate size British K 1/2, USA 5 1/2, Europe 10.58, Japan 10)



Found whilst searching with a metal detector in Lewes, West Sussex, UK, on Wednesday, 9th October 2024. Declared as treasure under the Treasure Act with reference no.2024T1242, subsequently disclaimed and returned to the finder. Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report no.SUSS-1D0CDB.

See examples with similar style script and moulded skulls flanked with cross-hatched mouldings on the PAS website :SF-223B48 (2021T585) dated to 1697; DEV-200F91 (2019T823) with black niello inlay surviving dating 1676; LON-A96750 (2010T192) also with niello inlay dating 1703/4 and DUR-4FC118 (2015T249) dating 1673.

Carved in the round figure of a bull supporting an oil lamp on its back pierced for suspension; mounted on a custom-made stand. 47 grams total, 55 mm including stand



Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.