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_900x900.jpg "Gold Engraved Touchpiece")
_200x200.jpg "Gold Engraved Touchpiece")
.jpg "Gold Engraved Touchpiece")
LOT 1801
Gold Engraved Touchpiece
17TH CENTURY A.D. OR EARLIER
3/4 in. (5.53 grams, 17 mm).
Barrel-shaped with two impressed flat faces, one with a later engraving of a guilloche border and looped tendrils framing reserved initials 'PO P[R]' above and lower 'NU [.]M'; possibly a touchpiece or love token. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired since the 1970s.
From the private collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.
Accompanied by a copy of the article 'A Roman or Anglo-Saxon Fertility Amulet?' published in Treasure Hunting Magazine.
Harfellet, Geoffrey, A Roman or Anglo-Saxon Fertility Amulet?, Treasure Hunting Magazine, April 2018, p.15.
FootnotesThe design is reserved and very faint; the outer guilloche is quite convincing but the details of the design are hard to determine, and may always have been quite indistinct. The impression is of a 17th century love token with the initials of the couple. The finder's article implies an Anglo-Saxon date, probably on the strength of the guilloche which was often use on early Saxon metalwork - but it is a long-lived motif and not specific to that one period.
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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Cretan School Wooden Pedestal Cross Base with 'Descent from the Cross' Gilt Painted Scene
Circa 17th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £13,000
Hollow-constructed stepped pedestal with socket to accept a devotional cross; gesso surface with moulded edging and gilt finish; painted scene of the 'descent from the cross' and 'lamentation of the Christ' with Christ laid out on the Holy Shroud surrounded by sorrowful Mary Magdalene, Virgin Mary, Mary of Clopas, St John the Evangelist, St Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus holding a ladder in the background; coffin with open cover to the left, cave of Golgotha to the right with skull, landscape with city of Jerusalem in the background. 8 kg, 104 cm wide
Fine condition.
Ex property of a London lady, part of her family's collection. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no. 11542-196369.
In the Orthodox world, single wooden crosses representing the Stavrosis (Crucifixion) were positioned as icons in their own right, with candles placed in front of them as offering for the dead. It is a tradition that dates back to Byzantium, and was continued in the Slavic Orthodox world with the creation of splendid painted wooden crucifixes placed on equally beautifully painted pedestals. In this case the complex representation includes all the elements of the Gospel that recall the passion, death and resurrection of Christ. Christ has been taken down from the cross and is surrounded by his loved ones. His muscular body highlights the wound in his right side procured by Longinus' spear. The pain of the mother, the piety of Mary, is expressed here with the mute silence of the Madonna, who holds her son's head, which contrasts with the pain manifested by the other bystanders. Saint Joseph of Arimathea, who procured the tomb and the sacred sheet, devoutly holds the feet of Christ. The right side of the scene shows the Golgotha, symbol of the human death of Christ. The left of the scene shows the open tomb, symbol of the human and divine Resurrection of Christ. The sacred sheet, loose inside the sepulchre with open lid, appears as a symbol of the saving grace of the Resurrection. The city in the background represents ancient Jerusalem transformed into its heavenly equivalent through the Resurrection of Christ.
