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LOT 0434
Ethiopian Leather 'Book of Psalms' Codex
17TH CENTURY A.D.
12 3/4 x 9 5/8 in. (3.5 kg, 32.5 x 24.5 cm).
Wooden end-boards covered with tooled leather, later reinforced with a new plain leather spine and replaced twine stringers; psaltery with decorated title page in Ge'ez script, red and black ink; parchment pages with dry-point guidelines, black text with red detailing; some pages with decorative polychrome busts, architectural features, etc. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceEx Claudia Belcher, London, until 2005.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12045-212183.
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AUCTIONS:
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Post Medieval Lead Musket Ball and Pistol Shot Collection
17th-18th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £7
Mixed group including a leader powder-measure. 600 grams total, 9-18 mm
Acquired since the 1970s. From the private collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman. -
Framed Watercolour Painting
India, early 20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £20
Depicting a female figure standing in a landscape with trees, water and birds, holding an instrument over her shoulder; set in a reveal within a glazed wooden frame. 559 grams, 27.5 x 20 cm
Fine condition, some worm holes.
Acquired on the UK art market, 1980s-1990s. The Woodbridge collection of Indo-Persian art. -
Ethiopian 'Miracle of Mary' Manuscript Leaf
Circa 1500 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,560
Vellum leaf with pricked guidelines for placement of two columns of black-ink text in Ge'ez script with red detailing; recto with nineteen lines of text; verso with text and polychrome painted scene of figures beside a house and distribution of drink. 13 grams, 26.5 x 23.5 cm
Acquired on the New York art market, circa 2000. Ex central London gallery.
With the royal patronage for her cult given by the Gondar’s Kings, Virgin Mary's role as a maker of miracles became predominant and apocalyptic metaphors and narrative gained importance in pictorial representations, such as those in the manuscripts. Her eschatological role continued to evolve until the eighteenth century, when she was portrayed in an icon as a celestial empress.
