Large Post-Classical Glass Gem with Dancing Figures in Gold Mount

Representing Saint Antipas with a Gospel in his left hand and making the gesture of blessing with his right, dressed as a bishop, with sticharion, covered by omophorion, and surmounted by an epitrachelion; the Mandylion at the centre above the saint, Saint Mary on the left panel and Jesus on the right; Old Slavic inscription around the figures: 'ΙC ΧΡ' (Jesus Christ); 'ΜΡ ϴΥ'(Mother of God); Saint Antipas of Pergamum (Св Анти́па Перга́мский). 238 grams, 11.3 cm



Acquired from Chris Martin-Zakheim, Iconastas, 5 Piccadilly Arcade, London SW1. From the private collection of a West London, UK, gentleman, formed since the early 2000s.

The icon features meticulous craftsmanship typical of Orthodox iconography. Saint Antipas was popularly held to be a healer of tooth problems. He was martyred by burning in a brazen bull-shaped altar under the Emperors Nero or Domitian.

Formed as a hand showing figa gesture, silver mount with applied twisted wires; attachment loop and ring to the top. 19.6 grams, 56 mm



Private collection, Europe. Acquired on the English art market.

Mano Fico, as protective amulets have been used since the ancient world, it was believed to protect from the evil eye and other dark and magical forces and to promote fertility. In ancient Rome, the fig sign, or mano fico, was made by the pater familias (father of the family) to ward off the evil spirits of the dead as a part of the Lemuria ritual. The ancient Greeks wore amulets of the gesture around the neck to protect from the evil eye, and also used the gesture in artwork. What they considered an overtly sexual gesture was expected to distract evil spirits from causing harm. The pendant would have been worn from a belt or from a chatelaine containing other protective talismans. This carving would have served as a token representing a person's pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, one of the very few places in which jet can be found and mined since at least the Middle Ages.

Depicting the martyrs freezing to death in a lake in Cappadocia, clad only in their undergarments (esophoria); Jesus above, dressed in gold and red, offering the crowns of martyrdom as a sign of reward; a tower to the side of the martyrs; Greek inscriptions: inside the gold nimbus 'O ѾN' (= The Only One who always exists), the inscription above the martyrs reading: 'Οι Άγιοι Τεσσαράκοντα Μάρτυρες = The Saint Holy 40 Martyrs'. 810 grams, 30 x 22.5 cm



Acquired on the European art market. Private collection, London, UK. 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 number no.13063-249294.

The icon depicts the martyrdom of the 40 soldiers of the Legio XII Fulminata, who died in a frozen lake in Cappadocia in 320 AD. The drama experienced by these courageous men, nourished by their faith in Christ, is evocatively expressed. Their frozen bodies are painted in ochre and olive green, reflecting the stages of their agony. Christ is offering them crowns of glory from heaven as a sign of reward. The cult of the 40 Martyrs spread rapidly, first in Constantinople, where several churches were dedicated to them, then in the Balkans and Russia.