Medieval Gilt Bronze Mount of Angel

Carved in the half-round frieze fragment or devotional sculpture of the Madonna del Fuoco, facing female in wimple and long robe with her right arm bent forward, left arm extended above a child gripping the folds of her robe; billowing flames surrounding the pair; mounted on a custom-made stand. 10.55 kg total, 37.7 cm including stand



Acquired Lukas Pearsie, Suffolk, 2012. Property of a Kent collector. From the N.J. collection, Leicester, UK.

An ellipsoid seal matrix with a strap to the reverse; incuse motif of crowned Mary seated on a throne with infant Jesus; legend to the edge within pelletted borders '*hERVIV’ ECC[’]E SWINThORPE’ MA’ (Harvey, rector of the church of Great Swainsthorpe); later replacement loop to the verso. 5.29 grams, 24 mm



The Matrix Collection, formed by David Morris since the late 1980s. Found near the site of the church of Saint Mary in October 2002. Recorded with Norwich Castle Museum, retained for consideration as Treasure and subsequently returned to the finder. Matrix Collection catalogue no.1036. Many of the seals within the collection were published in a book titled 'The Matrix Collection', by David Morris in 2012. Accompanied by a copy of the illustrated collection notes. Accompanied by a copy of Norwich Castle Museum record slip no.9724 SWAINSTHORPE (G. Linton m/d Oct 02). This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11655-198742.

The village of Swainsthorpe is situated in Norfolk, some few miles to the south of Norwich and once boasted two churches (one now ruined). Recorded and assessed by the Secretary of State’s Expert Adviser as an object of cultural interest. The RCEWA reviewed an export application and determined that it meets the third Waverley criterion, making it currently non-exportable.

Square composite panel with brown-hued vitreous enamel and pink pigment, irregular profile bust set into the diamond quarries. 838 grams, 30.3 x 27 cm



Ancient Arms and Armour, Stained Glass, Coffrets and Furniture. Property from a New York Collection, American Art Association, New York, 23 November 1923, no.110 (as Flemish XV-XVI). The Monastery Stained Glass, 2004. Accompanied by a previous cataloguing document.

The loose, fluid brushwork and fine touches of pink sanguine pigment on this male head place him firmly in the first decades of the sixteenth century, a dating supported further by the visible hemline of the fashionable pleated shirt covering his neck. These are all characteristic features of Southern Netherlandish stained glass from this period, and parallels offered by programs such as the early sixteenth-century windows in Antwerp Cathedral, the c. 1500 glazing scheme at Sint Gummarus church in Lier just outside Antwerp, as well as at sites such as Notre Dame du Sablon in Brussels, suggest an artist working in Brabant in the early years of the century.