Georgian Silver and Gold 'The Heart Brings Love To You' Posy Ring

Comprising a lion-mask cast in high-relief with retouched detailing to the mane and muzzle, substantial ring in the mouth, flange rim with six holes to accept fixing bolts. 2.81 kg, 26.8 cm



with Herbelin Auction, 3 April 2024, no.110. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12556-230729. 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.

Depicting nimbate Mary Theotokos with veiled head and wearing a red maphorion mantle over a dark blue robe with gold cuffs, inclined towards the infant Jesus supported by her left hand, wearing a bright red mantle and a blue tunic highlighted with gold, his left arm holding a roll and the right hand in a gesture of blessing; white field, tempera on wood, Smolenskaya type. 1.12 kg, 32 x 26 cm



Acquired from Portobello Road, London, circa 2000. 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 model for the icon, painted in 16th century style, is the one of the Mother of God of Smolensk, associated with the Byzantine icon of the Hodegetria ('She who shows the ways). According to the legend, the icon of Smolensk received the name after healing two blind men. The original icon of Smolensk was a gift of the Roman Emperor Constantine Monomachus to her daughter Anna when she married the Russian Prince Vsevolod. Later Anna presented the icon to his son Vladimir who put it in the Vladimir Cathedral.

Anatomical detailing to the carapace, head and legs, underside with nine lines of hieroglyphic text, replicating the royal scarab of the Pharaoh Amenhotep III (ca. 1390–1352 B.C.), commemorating a lion hunt. 256 grams, 89 mm



From a private, UK, collection in the 1980s. Property of a London, UK, antiquarian. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.

This is a replica of one of several commemorative scarabs issued by Pharaoh Amenhotep III to celebrate various events. The text reads: May he live, the Horus, Mighty Bull Who Appears in Maat; the Two Ladies, Establisher of the Laws and Pacifier of the Two Lands, the Horus of Gold, Great of Strength Who Smites the Asiatics; the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Nebmaatre; the Son of Re, Amenhotep Ruler of Thebes, endowed with life; and the King’s Great Wife Tiye, may she live! The number of lions (hunted) from regnal year 1 down to regnal year 10, lions 102. In 2019, an original lion hunt scarab was sold at Christie's in New York for $106,250!