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Details
LOT 1787
Medieval Bronze Thimble Collection
CIRCA 14TH-16TH CENTURY A.D.
5/8 - 7/8 in. (28.87 grams total, 16-22 mm).
Including flat-topped, beehive and other types. [4, No Reserve]
Provenance
Acquired on the UK art market before 2000.
Property of an Essex, UK, gentleman.
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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From the Romanesque era onwards, images of demons, often carved on the external sides of cathedrals and churches, were strongly linked to the fantastical and monstrous creatures of ancient myth and legend. For theologians, supernatural creatures which could not otherwise be explained were not of God and therefore had to be demonic: their incorporation in the ecclesiastic structures showed that their malevolent powers could be kept under control only through the protection of the church. This origin of Christian demons is likely to have influenced the visual representation in medieval culture as hybrid and monstrous, especially given the increased interest in Greek works from the twelfth century onwards in the West.