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LOT 1769
Medieval Lead Pilgrim's Holy Water Ampulla
CIRCA 15TH CENTURY A.D.
2 in. (55.1 grams, 53 mm).
With lateral loops and low-profile rosette to one side and a spiral whorl to the other. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFound Suffolk, UK.
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 Knight's Enamelled Bronze Heraldic Horse Harness Pendant Group
14th-15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £104
Including quatrefoil and octagonal types with heraldic motifs: lion passant and three lions passant gardant. 24 grams total, 33-36 mm
Found Gloucestershire, UK. Acquired from the early 1980s. From the private collection of a late Gloucestershire, UK, gentleman; thence by descent. -
Medieval Bronze Inscribed Ring Brooch
14th-15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £26
Flat-section hoop with legend to obverse 'X POVERT PA'. 6.36 grams, 30 mm
Ex Graham Slater collection, Cambridge, 1980s-1990s.
This popular ring-brooch legend is the beginning of a proverb [Whiting P334: poverty parts company] found in 15th century manuscripts, which the brooches may well antedate – see, for example, PAS database SF-84C91E, i.e. the perhaps cynical observation that if one loses one’s money, one loses one’s friends. -
Medieval Dutch Pewter Holy Blood Of Wilsnack Pilgrim's Badge
14th-15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £85
Trilobate in plan with openwork triangle between three roundels with hatched fields, the upper two surmounted by crosses, depicting scenes from Christ's life: the crucifixion, resurrection and Christ at the Column in relief. 3.39 grams, 31 mm
Ex European collection, 1990s. Ex Cambridgeshire, UK, collection.
In 1383 AD, after fire in the town of Bad Wilsnack, Germany) three consecrated communion hosts were found undamaged in the ruins of the church. According to the legend, they were sprinkled with the Holy Blood of Christ, which made Bad Wilsnack a famous pilgrimage site. The resultant pilgrim badges were distinctive in shape with three circles arranged in a triangle and painted in red, referring to this miracle. Although the miracle was doubted by Reformation period scholars like John Hus, the final blow came in 1552, when the miraculous communion hosts were publicly burned.