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_900x900.jpg "Medieval Iron Fire Starter Group")
_200x200.jpg "Medieval Iron Fire Starter Group")
.jpg "Medieval Iron Fire Starter Group")
LOT 1889
Medieval Iron Fire Starter Group
CIRCA 11TH-18TH CENTURY A.D.
2 1/8 - 3 1/2 in. (165 grams total, 55-88 mm).
Including fire steels of various types with ornamental shaping. [5, No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired 1990s-early 2000s.
East Anglian private collection.
Cf. for similar Viking Iron fire starter Arbman, H., Birka I: Die Gräber, Uppsala, 1940, pl.144 (no.3a-3b-6).
FootnotesFire steels were used to generate a spark from a 'strike-a-light' (a piece of flint or pyrite). The spark was directed into a tinder box containing a dry, flammable material such as charred linen until a flame was kindled.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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Medieval Lead Artefact Group
14th-15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £39
Including a small dish, pendant cross and other items. 298 grams total, 3-12.5 cm
Acquired on the European art market since the early 2000s. From the private Northern Ireland collection of R.M. -
Medieval Bronze Seal Matrix with Clasped Hands
12th-14th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £20
With central mane-in-fede motif beneath a star, Lombardic script legend '* FOY ME TENT' for 'fidelity sustains me'. 4.37 grams, 20 mm
Ex Stocker collection, Kent, UK, 1955-early 2000s.
This amatory legend is found on other matrices, where the first word is more usually spelled FEI – a similar example is PAS database, SOM-D80124. An impression in the National Library of Wales is attached to a document dated c.1310. For this and similar legends see, Jones, M., The Beautiful Game: Courtly Love Posies in Anglo-Norman Inscribed on Jewellery and Seals, in Journal of the British Archaeological Association 176 (2023), 1-30. -
Medieval Personal Lead Seal Matrix of Hugo Cousins
Circa 13th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £52
Vesica-shaped with rosette and quatrefoil to the reverse, obverse with fleur-de-lys and legend to the border '+ SI hVGONIS COSIN' (seal of Hugh/Hugo Cosin). 6.81 grams, 30.16 mm
Ex Paul Moore collection, West Sussex, UK, 1990s-2000s. Accompanied by a Paul Moore display card.
