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LOT 1803
Medieval and Later Thimble Collection
14TH-19TH CENTURY A.D.
1/2 - 7/8 in. (36.5 grams total, 13-23 mm).
Comprising eight thimbles of beehive and other types. [8, No Reserve]
ProvenanceFound Suffolk, UK.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
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AUCTIONS:
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Medieval Bronze Beehive Thimble Collection
14th-15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £33
Each with rows of regularly placed impressed-point hatching. 22.1 grams total, 16-21 mm
Found near York, Yorkshire, UK. From an old Yorkshire, UK, collection. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Medieval Lead Seal Matrix for Christine Daughter of Bene
13th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £72
Vesica-shaped with loop to the reverse; obverse with a legend 'S' CRISTIM FIL BENE' for 'seal of Christine daughter of Bene(?)'; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 8.26 grams, 31 mm
From the collection of Paul Moore, West Sussex, UK, 1990s. Accompanied by an old laminated dealer's ticket. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Medieval Bronze 'You Have a Loyal/Faithful Love' Seal Matrix Head
Circa 1300-1400 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £221
Circular die with a central four-leaved plant paris quadrifolia, surrounded by a French inscription reading: '*LEL AMI AVET' for 'you have a loyal (or faithful) love'. 5.28 grams, 17 mm
Found Fairstead, Braintree, Essex, UK. Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report no.ESS-F0F3AA. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Dr Malcolm Jones notes: 'This common device and associated inscription need to be understood in the context of the imagery and conventions of amour courtois/Courtly Love. Certainly, ami literally means ‘friend’, but in this context it means ‘love, lover, beloved’ – so the legend means “you have a loyal/faithful love”. Furthermore this quatrefoil is no ordinary stylised flower. In medieval English the four-leaved plant paris quadrifolia was known as the truelove. Two 15th-century English wills include the bequest of rings in the shape of a truelove: an anulum argenti operatum cum uno trewlove (silver ring fashioned with a truelove) in 1407, and unum anulum argenti et deauratum cum uno trew lofe (a silver and silver-gilt ring with a truelove) in 1464.
