Georgian Period Silver Shoe Buckle

A bifacial bronze Yämäṩor Mäsqäl processional cross finial with later replaced socket, flanking bird motifs and dense block of tendrils and wheels with seven cross-shaped finials, central panel with Virgin Mary, Holy Child and angels to the front, saints and Evangelists to the back. 55 grams, 26 cm (37.5 cm including stand)



Acquired on the London art market, 2006. UK private collection.

In contrast with the hand cross that is fitted with a grip, the processional cross has a hollow shaft into which the pole supporting the cross is inserted, although the use of both is interconnected in the liturgy and ceremonial aspects of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. In Amharic it received the name of yämäṩor mäsqäl or "cross to [carry] on a pole", the term mäṩor also meaning a wooden handle. Processional crosses are used on "every qaddase day" occasions - an expression meaning whenever the liturgy is performed. This includes displaying the cross during the reading of the Gospels and other sacred texts, as well as holding it up to be viewed at the end of the service for the final blessing.

A bronze statue modelled on the famous Farnese Hermes (now in the British Museum); the god portrayed naturalistically in the round, youthful and nude, a chlamys draped around his shoulders, winged sandals on his feet; discoid base. 16.3 kg, 82 cm high



French collection, 1960s-early 2000s. From an important Paris gallery, France. with Marion Antique Auction, USA, 8 June 2019, lot 131. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11689-199352.

The statue copies a Roman copy of a famous type created in the school of the Greek sculptor Praxiteles in the 4th century B.C. Villa de Papiri. A similar copy exists in the collection of the British Museum, London, under accession no. 1864,1021.1.

A mixed group of bronze military buttons with repoussé heraldic motifs, and a cap badge of the Royal Artillery Corp. 240 grams total, 15-41 mm

Fair condition.

Found by John Harrison whilst searching with a metal detector in South Yorkshire, UK.