Gilt Reliquary Pendant

A magnificent and superb quality Victorian Gothic revival painted altar or reredos panel, as exemplified by the works and designs of Augustus Pugin, on Welsh slate depicting a large golden cross with latticed arms and squared quatrefoil terminals showing the emblems and names of the four Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; the cross set over a circle enclosing a quatrefoil background with the main discus showing a white cross trefoil on a red expanding cross against a green background with the Christogram letters 'IHS' entwined for Jesus Christ; the design set against a dark blue field ornamented with 48 golden radiant six-pointed stars; complete with the original carved oak frame together with the carved oak projecting base plinth shelf with quatrefoil perforations and another Christogram 'IHS' within a blue oval to the central projection. 73 kg total, 134.5 cm base and 159 cm high

Fine condition.

Collection formed in the 2000s. Property of an East Anglia gentleman.

From the 4th century A.D., the vision of Ezekiel and John's Apocalypse, assigned the lion, the angel, the eagle and the ox a stable place in the iconography of the tetramorph to represent the evangelist Mark (lion) next to the calf (Luke), the angel (Matthew) and the eagle (John). They are, in Christian iconography and theology, the four winged cherubs singing the triumphal hymn, exclaiming, proclaiming, and saying: 'Holy, holy, holy, Lord Sabaoth'. The oldest representations date back to the 5th century A.D., and are found in the mosaics of the baptistry of Naples and in the apse of S. Prudenziana in Rome. The tetramorph was a favourite subject in 12th century ecclesiastic art and its use has continued to the present day.

A copper-alloy finger ring with slightly convex hoop with a raised knop at the bottom, ellipsoidal bezel with ring-and-dot motifs to the perimeter and a blue and red glass cabochon on a raised central platform. 5.24 grams, 26.96 mm overall, 20.46 mm internal diameter (approximate size British U, USA 10, Europe 22.52, Japan 21)



Private collection formed since the 1940s. UK art market. Property of an Essex gentleman.

A dynamically poised bull, naturalistically modelled looking downwards and slightly to the left, with short curls to the top of the head; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 2.4 kg total, 30 cm wide including stand



From an important Paris gallery, France. with Adjug Auctions, Paris, France, 2 February 2020, lot 518.