Medieval Initial 'N' Tempera on Parchment from a Choir Book

Comprising an annular body decorated with four raised pyramidal knops each set with an amethyst cabochon, interstitial lobes with pounced surface; sword-shaped pin. 3.72 grams, 19 mm



Found near Brandon, Suffolk, UK. From an East Anglian private collection.

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.

Flat-section straightened hoop with incised blackletter text 'le belle ie[u]' translating to 'the beautiful game' with interposed flowers and stalks. 1.68 grams, 16.92 mm overall, 15.39 mm internal diameter (approximate size British I 1/2, USA 4 1/2, Europe 8.07, Japan 7)



Found whilst searching with a metal detector near Witham on the Hill, South Kesteven, Lincolnshire, UK, on Sunday 9th January 2022, by Mark Bowen. Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report no.CAM-D675E8. Accompanied by a copy of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Treasure receipt and and disclaimed with Treasure case tracking no.2022T153. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12139-214843.

The final word of the inscription is ie for ie[u], an Anglo-Norman spelling of modern French jeu ‘game’. The game in question is, of course, love (not football!). The ‘game’ of love here is what we now refer to as Courtly Love (amour courtois, fin amor) and the phrase ‘beautiful game’ is also found on another ring recorded on the PAS database as YORYM-0A0FD2, the whole, a rhyming couplet, reading AMIE EN VV/ [E]ST MA VIE BELE GIEV [Beloved, in you my life is a beautiful game].