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LOT 0365
Medieval Gilt Bronze Plaque of the True Face of Christ
ITALY, CIRCA 1500 A.D.
4 x 2 5/8 in. (216 grams, 10.1 x 6.6 cm).
With raised rim, nimbate bust of Christ in profile with long beard and shoulder-length hair, folded collar to the mantle; dove above with wings spread between sun and moon, each with a facing mask; inscription I.N.R.I. visible on either side of the portrait; mounted on a velvet-covered stand. [No Reserve]
Provenancewith Pierre-Richard Royer, 2010.
Ex central London gallery.
Cf. Strong, R., 600 Years of British Painting: the Berger Collection an the Denver Art Museum, Exhibition catalogue, Denver, 1999, for history of the artefact; for a similar icon see a plaque in the Walters Art Museum, accession no.54.68.
FootnotesThe icon represents the profile bust of Christ found on a Byzantine emerald, whence it is known as an 'Emerald Icon'. The emerald was one of the several holy objects sent to Pope Innocent VIII in the 1490's by the Turkish Sultan Bajazet II. The icon was considered one of the Christianity's most precious relics. The letters "I N R I" stand for 'Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum,' i.e.' Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews' This is the inscription that, according to the Evangelist John, Pilate had written on the plaque above Christ's head on the cross. The sun and moon allude to the cosmic significance of his sacrifice.
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LOT 0365
Medieval Gilt Bronze Plaque of the True Face of Christ
Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,820
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Medieval and Later Bronze Buckle Group
15th-20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £20
Including D-shaped, rectangular, double-loop and other types. 242 grams total, 12-50 mm
Found Suffolk, UK. -
Medieval Gilt Bronze Plaque of the True Face of Christ
Italy, circa 1500 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,820
With raised rim, nimbate bust of Christ in profile with long beard and shoulder-length hair, folded collar to the mantle; dove above with wings spread between sun and moon, each with a facing mask; inscription I.N.R.I. visible on either side of the portrait; mounted on a velvet-covered stand. 216 grams, 10.1 x 6.6 cm
with Pierre-Richard Royer, 2010. Ex central London gallery.
The icon represents the profile bust of Christ found on a Byzantine emerald, whence it is known as an 'Emerald Icon'. The emerald was one of the several holy objects sent to Pope Innocent VIII in the 1490's by the Turkish Sultan Bajazet II. The icon was considered one of the Christianity's most precious relics. The letters "I N R I" stand for 'Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum,' i.e.' Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews' This is the inscription that, according to the Evangelist John, Pilate had written on the plaque above Christ's head on the cross. The sun and moon allude to the cosmic significance of his sacrifice. -
Medieval Bronze Limoges Saint
13th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £169
Comprising a tongue-shaped curved-section body pierced in two places for attachment and forked lower end, with rounded shoulders and bowed head with soft features and short hair. 20 grams, 86 mm
From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.
From the 12th to 14th century, there was a large industry producing metal objects decorated in enamel using the champlevé technique, of which most of the survivals and probably most of the original production, are religious objects such as reliquaries, crosses and statues of saints.
