Georgian Galleon Swivel Fob Seal Matrix

Cloison with impressed relief bust of a youthful male with laurel wreath to his brow; surface accretions. 1.26 grams, 17 mm



From the Fadel family collection, London, UK, 1970s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.

Representing the Hodegetria, with Mary indicating towards Jesus with her right hand, holding him with her left hand; on the right, a small image of Saint Tekla with veiled head and a long tunica talaris, holding a holy book; the cover set with pearls and semi-precious stones; dedicatory inscription plate in Cyrillic; inscriptions in Greek on the wooden background 'ΜΡ ΘΥ' for 'Mother of God', 'IC XC' for 'Jesus Christ'; over the small image of Saint Tekla Greek inscription 'Ο AΓIA TEKLA'; tempera on wood. 650 grams, 23 x 19.5 cm



Property of a London, UK, gentleman collector. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.

The icon, probably Greek in origin and later covered with beat work in Russia, shows the Virgin in the attitude of Mother of Consolation, or in that of Hodegetria. This is the iconographical type of Virgin Mary one encounters most frequently in an Eastern Orthodox church or home, Hodegetria meaning 'Mother of God Pointing the Way'. The Virgin Mary is shown with the Christ on her lap, her eyes looking at the viewer and her right hand indicating Christ, seeming to say 'Follow Him'. Later icons of the Hodegetria were adorned with gilt-silver covers and jewels like this one.

With high-relief scene of a horse running in a landscape beneath the moon. 49 grams, 57 x 41 mm



Ex Paris gallery, 1980-1990. From a Parisian collection. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.