Georgian Bronze Putto Mount

Vesica-shaped diptych with standing nimbate Mary and child; openwork panel with mail-clad knight wearing a plumed helmet; believed to be by William Smith and Charles Eaton, 'dated' 1006 A.D. 241 grams total, 16 cm



Received from the curator of Leeds Museum by descent, circa mid 1980s. Ex property of a Yorkshire lady. From the private collection of a Cheshire, UK, gentleman. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

"Billy and Charlies", also known as the Shadwell forgeries, refer to a very extensive series of fake antiquities made in Victorian London by William Smith (Billy) and Charles Eaton (Charley). They were mudlarks who searched the Thames for items of value. William Edwards, a London antique dealer, made Billy's acquaintance around 1845, and he met Charley some years later. He paid them for items of interest that they found. Billy and Charley earned money from this until 1857, when they decided to counterfeit antiquities. They cast objects from lead or pewter, cutting dies into plaster of Paris moulds with nails and knives, and bathing the finished items in acid to simulate aging. Their commonest products were medallions, but others included daggers, statuettes, ampullae and even small shrines; as they were both illiterate the inscriptions on many of the objects are nonsense. They sold their forgeries to very prominent collectors of the time who thought they were genuine. Eventually, due to the large volume of objects that were appearing on the market, they were arrested and tried at court though they could not be found guilty of any crime at the time. They were released and carried on producing fakes but their style of manufacture had become well known and they eventually disappeared from history.

Each earring composed of five articulated segments, masterfully crafted in silver and gold with an openwork gold base frame executed in the ajour technique extending to the edges; the upper section featuring a hexagonal stud centred by a table-cut diamond within a border of small inset stones, followed by heart-shaped and hexagonal links adorned with further diamonds; the central rosette displaying a prominent diamond encircled by six flat-cut stones, with the interstitial lobes and the hexagonal double frame highlighted by rows of tiny diamonds; the reverse richly ornamented with a stylised flowering plant motif, two leaves flanking a central stem surmounted by a round flower, all defined in silver-set diamonds against the openwork gold ground, further enclosed by a twin ring of zig-zagging diamond lines; suspended below, a claw-form dangle holding a large round pearl, capped above and below with diamond-set finials. 53.62 grams total, 10.1-10.2 cm



Acquired in 2010. Private collection, London. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12802-241417. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

With a bulbous body and wide foot, the neck formed as a draped female figure with an opening on her back, ribbed strap handle; a flower on each side of the female figure with an emerging head of a lady to the centre (one absent); a large female face to the front of the body with elaborate coiffure and painted necklace. 2.56 kg, 53.5 cm



From the family collection of a Hampstead gentleman; formerly acquired in the 1980s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.