Medieval Knight's Heraldic Horse Harness Pendant Group

Modelled as an arching horseshoe with nine nail holes. 4.95 grams, 25 mm



From a European collection, 1990s. Accompanied by a previous dealer's sales ticket.

This attribute results from a story in which Saint Eligius exorcised a demon from a badly-behaved horse by twisting off its leg and miraculously reattaching it. Through doing this, he also managed to trumpet his skills as a metalworker by re-shoeing it while the leg was detached. For this reason, he is also the patron saint of farriers.

Pillar capital for an architectural column or pier decorated with dense vegetation motifs, tapering swags or garlands; reef-knot motif and leaves above; unworked to the reverse. 74 kg total, 51.5 cm high including stand



Ex French collection. Holz Artles, 25 April 2015, no.83. Private collection, Kensington, London. Private collection, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13383-259007.

This finely carved capital belongs to a group of Romanesque capitals known as knotwork capitals, widespread in the South of France and North of Spain, where the influence of the architecture of the old Visigothic Kingdom was still strong. These capitals probably originate in one of the most famous sculpture workshops of Romanesque France. The base of the capital is topped by a row of abstractly sculpted acanthus leaves. The dominant section of the capital is decorated with stylised knotwork, composed of ornament that entwine and end in folded acanthus leaves. In between the entwined branches, there is more foliage forming the ‘head of a monster’ which playfully animates the sculpture.

Discoid pendant with raised shield at the centre, possibly with three lions passant guardant for the coat of arms of England. 8.91 grams, 33 mm



From the private collection of Graham Slater (1927-2024), Cambridge, UK; formed 1980s-1990s.