Loading, please wait...
LOT 1880
Medieval Lead Seal Matrix Pair
14TH CENTURY A.D.
1 in. (21.4 grams total, 25-27 mm).
Both with central eight-petalled flower within a roundel, surrounding inscription, one with legend 'S' WILLI WASRAT' = Seal of William Wasrat; the other with 'S' HENRICI BREIWOOD' = Seal of Henry Brewood, the family originating in Brewood, Staffordshire. [2, No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom the collection of the famous author, writer and speaker, Gordon Bailey, Essex, UK; formed since 1968.
PublishedBailey, G., Finds identified, Witham, 2000, pp.25-26, figs.4,7.
LiteratureCf. Bailey, G., Detector Finds, Witham, 1999, p.55, fig.18, for similar seals.
FootnotesDuring the medieval period the use of seals on documents, letters and packages became widespread. Lead was cheap to use and easy to engrave, and from the late 12th until the end of 13th century seals of this type, with very conventional central designs, were important possessions amongst the lower classes.
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:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
-
Medieval Iron Fire Dog Pair
15th-16th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £26
Matched pair, each a square-section iron bar with tapering ends, crescent finials forming angled legs; raised finials with swan-neck (two absent); old collector's labels '3' and '4'. 990 grams total, 37-38.5 cm
Ex Robin Symes Gallery, Mayfair, UK, pre 1999. -
Medieval Stained Glass Panel of a Praying Angel
England, 15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £780
Figural panel with nimbate angel, head bent forward and hands clasped before the chest in prayer; yellow-amber pigment to robes and hair, drawn up in a top-knot; lead cames with loop to the upper edge; old collector's label '12764 001'. 100 grams, 20.3 cm
Kees Berserik, 2008. Ex central London gallery. -
Medieval Archangels and Other Carved Bone Plaques by the Embriachi Workshop
Italy, Florence, circa 1400 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £7,800
Group of nine carved bone panels from a casket, most with a tapering upper third and openwork vegetation at the top; comprising: young man resting his hands on a teardrop shield, beside a fir-tree, looking right; winged nimbate angel in floor-length robe reaching upwards towards a three-horned crown; winged nimbate angel in floor-length robe holding a naked sword in her right hand and scales in her left; winged nimbate figure in floor-length robe holding a serpent in each hand, with three faces conjoined; winged angel in floor-length robe sitting on a dais, holding a discoid object with a bifid handle (perhaps a lute); winged nimbate angel in floor-length robe holding a chalice in her right hand and cross in her left; winged nimbate angel in floor-length robe holding a flaming torch in her right hand and grasping the raised hands of a child with her left; winged nimbate angel in floor-length robe with two ewers, pouring liquid from one to the other; young man resting his hands on a teardrop shield, beside a fir-tree, looking left; mounted on a wooden display stand. 1.08 kg total, 48.5 cm wide including stand
Acquired Delchar, London, 2011. Private collection, Suffolk, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12291-221716.
The Bottega degli Embriachi was an important producer of artworks carved in bone (and occasionally ivory) in a framework of inlaid wood. It was active in Northern Italy from circa 1375 A.D. until circa 1433. It relocated from Florence to Venice about 1395. The Bottega was especially known for 'marriage caskets' with tall columnar lids, with carved bone figural panels. Some of the panels here are evidently Christian (the figure with the cross and chalice) while others are perhaps purely symbolic (Justice with sword and scales) and some are simply puzzling (e.g. the three-faced figure with serpents).
