Large Medieval Bronze Strap End with Dragon

Tongue-shaped with onion-knop finial, one face with engraved stylised dragon in profile. 16.9 grams, 74.8 mm



Acquired on the UK art market in the 1980s. From an East Anglian private collection.

Rectangular panel formed from a central disc, arms and quadrants; at the centre, Christ kneeling on a patch of grass between two high, rocky outcrops, extending his hands in prayer towards a golden chalice perched among rocks above him; around him, three disciples who recline in sleep, having failed to keep watch over Christ, all three clothed in full-length garments; a small bridge over a running brook separating Christ and his sleeping disciples from the approaching figures of Judas Iscariot and a group of armed Roman soldiers arriving to arrest Christ; mounted in lead-cames. 497 grams, 24.5 cm



Ex Fritz Geiges (1853-1935) collection, Freiburg im Breisgau. Walther Bremen collection, Krefeld, by 1964. Lempertz, Cologne, 2005, no.196. Klaus Tiedemann collection, acquired from the above. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.13479-262829.

The scene is one of the key moments leading up to Christ's Crucifixion that is described in detail in all four of the Gospels: the agony of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane.

Oil on board in a gilt-moulded frame with arcade detailing at the top; youthful figure shown sitting on a stone bench, barefoot with right leg extended; head bowed and book supported on the left knee, wearing a green tunic and large brown hooded travelling cloak; set in a landscape with hilltop city in the middle distance; reinforcing straps and suspension to the reverse. 4.15 kg, 61.5 cm high



Ex Vicar Anders Frostenson (1906-2006), Sweden. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.13515-262842.

It was common in Western art of this period to depict Saint John on Patmos as a youthful figure. By contrast, the Eastern tradition tended to represent him as an old man. In this regard, if we accept that the author of the Apocalypse was Saint John the Evangelist, he would have been approximately ninety years old at the time of its composition. However, painters such as Francisco Pacheco portrayed Saint John the Evangelist on multiple occasions and, notably, tended to depict him as a young man.