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LOT 0377
German Memento Mori Signet Ring
CIRCA 1600 A.D.
1 in. (22.40 grams, 27.88 mm overall, 21.55 mm internal diameter (approximate size British V, USA 10 1/2, Europe 23.77, Japan 22)).
Substantial gold hoop with ribbed shoulders and underside to the discoid bezel; incuse pelleted border enclosing a skull and single long bone above a bird's nest.
ProvenanceAcquired in the 1980s.
Property of a London gentleman.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11980-210514.
Cf. Chadour, A.B., Rings. The Alice and Louis Koch Collection, volume I, Leeds, 1994, item 654, for type.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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Medieval Framed Vellum Illuminated Manuscript Page Pair
France, 14th-early 15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £546
Comprising: manuscript of Psalm 129 (De profundis clamavi ad te Domine... 'I called out to the, Lord, from the depths...') in loose Caroline minuscule or batarde script with liquid gold detailing, blue versals with red pointillé framing; manuscript of the vespers chant (Protege Domine populum tuum... 'Lord, protect thy people...) in dense blackletter bookhand with liquid gold versals on blue and with red 'Oro' (I pray) responses; both mounted in a glazed wooden frame with cream-coloured card reveal. 447 grams total, 19.5 x 14.3 cm each
From a Blackheath, London, UK, deceased estate. Property of a Suffolk, UK, gentleman. -
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Medieval Bronze Vesica-Shaped Seal Matrix with a Bird
Circa 14th-15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £286
With central motif of a bird wearing the confessor's stole and holding an aspergillum in one foot, legend to the border '*CONFITEOR TIBI ABSOLVO TE' (I confess to you; I absolve you). 7.59 grams, 29 mm
Acquired on the UK art market in the 1980s. From an East Anglian private collection.
A fox - the penitent - lurks below the confessor, here depicted as a bird (duck?) wearing the confessor’s stole and holding a sprinkler for holy water in one foot. The confessor is about to become the fox’s next meal. This is an important addition to the repertoire of renardine satire – the fox-as-preacher to a congregation of birds (often with a couple already stashed in his hood behind) is a common motif in several media. On seal WILT-41EDE6, for example, he stands (with crozier) preaching to a duck and cockerel, but this is the first example of him coming to confession – with malice aforethought, of course. -
Medieval Royal Knight's Enamelled Bronze Heraldic Horse Harness Pendant
12th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £143
On a quatrefoil shield with pierced lug above, two lions passant gardant facing left, originally gilded, the field once containing red enamel. 6.93 grams, 33 mm
Found Norfolk, UK, circa 1990s.
The Royal Arms of England feature three lions passant gardant from the late 12th century, but there is a suspicion that an earlier version comprised only two such beasts, and that the third was added when Henry II married Eleanor Duchess of Aquitaine in 1152.
