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LOT 1935
Medieval Bronze Seal Matrix with Bird
ENGLAND, 14TH-15TH CENTURY A.D.
3/4 in. (7.58 grams, 20 mm).
Discoid in plan with faceted shank and pierced lug finial; central image of a bird advancing left with one wing raised above the back; legend to the border: '*PRIVE SV' ('I am private'); supplied wih an impression. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFound Ravensden, Bedfordshire, UK.
Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report no.BH-D78F26.
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AUCTIONS:
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Medieval Silver '+OF CANFILD' Hawking Ring or Vervel
Circa 16th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £338
Plain hoop inscribed in large seriffed capitals '+ OF CANFILD' for Canfield in Essex. 1.35 grams, 10.92 mm overall, 7.69 mm internal diameter
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s.
The lost pair of this vervel would have borne the name of the bird’s owner. -
Large Medieval Knight's Bronze Openwork Heraldic Horse Harness Pendant
Circa 14th-15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £39
Formed as an openwork quatrefoil with two projecting fleur-de-lys motifs, loop above. 26.1 grams, 69 mm
From the private coin collection of a West London, UK, gentleman, formed since the mid 1980s. -
Large Medieval Carved Limestone of St Martin on Horseback with Cloak and Beggar
Flemish, 15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £31,200
Carved in high relief, limestone scene depicting Saint Martin of Tours on horseback with his sword raised to cut off a portion of his military cloak to share it with a beggar; the saint wearing articulated armour buckled at his forearms and on his lower leg, with a billowing cloak draped across his shoulders; the horse shown in a contrapposto stance with one foreleg raised, with ornamental caparison and harness pendants; the beggar depicted with emaciated form wearing only underclothes, hands pressed together in supplication; to the reverse, traces of original fixing to a wall or architectural setting; restored. 108 kg, 78.5 cm high
Ex Richard Chester Master, Cirencester, UK. Kate Thurlow & Robin Thompson Collection, 21 October 1998. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13384-259005.
The subject derives from the episode recorded by Sulpicius Severus in his Vita Sancti Martini (c. 397 A.D.), in which the young Roman soldier Martin, stationed at Amiens, divided his cloak to share it with a freezing beggar; that same night, he dreamt that Christ appeared to him wearing the half of the garment which he had given away. Martin subsequently converted to Christianity and eventually became Bishop of Tours, where he was venerated as one of the most important saints of early medieval Western Europe; his feast day is celebrated on 11th November. The present relief belongs to a tradition of Flemish devotional sculpture that flourished in the 15th century, when the prosperous towns of the Low Countries — Bruges, Ghent, Brussels, and Mechelen — became pre-eminent centres of religious carving exported across Northern Europe. Comparable examples to this piece are held in the collections of the Musée de Cluny, Paris, and the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
