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LOT 1712
Medieval Bronze Shrine Head of a Lady
12TH-15TH CENTURY A.D.
1 3/8 in. (49 grams, 34 mm).
Hollow-formed with everted rim to the neck, hair held in a snood, with shallow lentoid eyes, bottle-shaped nose and slit mouth; remains of fixing pin to top of head.
ProvenanceFound Cambridgeshire, UK.
Private English collection formed in the 1990s.
Property of an Essex gentleman.
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LOT 1712
Medieval Bronze Shrine Head of a Lady
Estimate £150 - 200€170 - 230 (for guidance only)$200 - 270 (for guidance only)
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Medieval and Later Artefact Group
14th century A.D. and laterSold for (Inc. bp): £20
Including a winder key, belt buckles, jaws harp and other items. 133 grams total, 19-53 mm
Private collection, Buckinghamshire, UK; formed in the 1980s. Property of a Scottish collector, acquired in 2013. -
Medieval and Later Lead Weight Group
Circa 14th-19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £13
Including tabular, plano-convex and drum-shaped types. 2 kg total, 15-51 mm
Found Hertfordshire, UK. -
Medieval Bronze Aquamanile of a Male Bust
Northern Germany, Saxony, early 13th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £11,050
Hollow-formed vessel formed as a male bust; discoid body with chamfered shoulder bearing bands of running zigzag detailing and three splayed feet; the head with low-relief hair and rim of bosses with linear spirals, gracile facial features with lentoid eyes and slender nose, small pouting mouth; short spout to the forehead, filler-hole to top of the head with hinged cover; handle to the rear formed as a reptile with head and forepaws placed on the hair below the hinge and joining the base above one of the feet. 1.27 kg, 18 cm
Acquired on the UK art market in 2001. with Christie's, London, 6 December 2017. Private collection, Suffolk. Accompanied by copies of a previous illustrated cataloguing document with references. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12038-212152.
Aquamaniles in the form of a bust are a rarity compared to the quantity of zoomorphic forms known from the Middle Ages. The present piece was formed by lost-wax casting method, and is a very early example of such process for a vessel. Metallurgical analysis has shown that the piece is consistent with the suggested date.
