Large Tudor or Stuart Period Iron Door Key

With polychrome enamel in green, blue and yellow, framed by a square border with pointed doom, representing Saint Julyttas and her son Cyricus, surrounded by Saints; on the top, Christ Pantokrator, nimbate, making the gesture of blessing and holding a Gospel, seated upon a cloud and surrounded by Cyrillic letters 'ΙC ΧΡ' (Jesus Christ); Cyrillic inscriptions above some of the saints. 325 grams, 13.5 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.

Made of bronze with brightly coloured enamels, this icon was intended for private devotion, often carried by pilgrims and Orthodox believers for spiritual protection. St. Julyttas and her son Cyricus (Ки́рик и Иули́тта), among the most venerated figures in Russian tradition, are depicted in the centre, surrounded by other saints, a symbol of the communion of the righteous.

A rare complete and undamaged rectangular plaque bearing raised, moulded text on the obverse; with hatched three horizontal bars and two pelletted between five registers, framing the letters of the alphabet '+ABCDE / FGHIKL / MN[reversed]OPq / RSTVW / +Y[Z]'; tree with berries on a hatched field to the reverse. 26.8 grams, 53 mm



Found whilst searching with a metal detector near Kniveton, Derbyshire Dales, UK. Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report no.WMID-341C6A.

The letter 'U' has been omitted from the alphabet, as is common with such objects, as has the letter 'J', suggesting that the book was produced prior to the publication of Charles Butler's English Grammar (1633), which first distinguished between I and J. The letter Z is reversed. Hornbooks were employed as learning aids and commonly made from paper mounted onto wood, together with a transparent sheet of horn. Smaller, more portable lead-alloy examples such as this one are generally believed to have been mass-produced, whilst still falling within the genre of 'hornbooks'.

Modelled in the round, standing, facing, each with pronounced facial features and hairdo. 181 grams, 20 cm



From the private collection of John Meredith, acquired since the 1990s; thence by descent.