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LOT 1768
Medieval or Tudor Bronze Purse Bar
15TH-16TH CENTURY A.D.
5 1/4 in. (61 grams, 13.5 cm).
With hatched ornament to the outer ends of the bar and pierced rectangular panels beneath, swivel-mounted hoop. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom the collection of a Buckinghamshire, UK, collector established from the earlier 1960s.
LiteratureSee Williams, D., Finds Research Group, Datasheet 50, Copper-Alloy Purse Components, 2018; Portable Antiquities Scheme nos. BH-C238C7 and NMS-8281F5.
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 Bronze Thimble Collection
14th-19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £33
Comprising five thimbles of various sizes and types. 21.5 grams total, 15-22 mm
From various UK collections formed since the 1950s. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman. -
Medieval Stained Glass Panel of the Annunciate Virgin
Western France, 1250-1275 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £5,460
Depicting Mary clad in red and green, with a green halo outlining her head, raising her hands in exclamation. 1.92 kg, 53 x 23.5 cm
Eglise Saint-Malo, Dinan, France, by repute. Acquired from the above by Mr and Mrs Junius P. Morgan, Princeton, New Jersey, USA. The Dalva Brothers collection. Accompanied by a previous cataloguing document. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12994-246433.
Although her garments are uncharacteristic of figures of the Virgin, she nevertheless almost certainly represents Mary as she appeared in a scene of the Annunciation. Both in terms of the choice of colours, and in the style and treatment of her features and drapery folds, she can be compared very closely with window panels from the third quarter of the thirteenth century removed from the Church of Saint Radegonde in Poitiers, including a window now in the Glencairn Museum in Bryn Athyn which shows in its lowermost vignette an identically dressed Virgin riding side saddle on a donkey during her flight into Egypt (fig. 1a-b). -
Medieval Gold Ring Brooch with Garnets and 'Let us Live as One Soul’ Posy Inscription
13th-14th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £7,020
An annular brooch with pelletted edges, six garnet cabochons adorning the brooch, each in a tall closed setting; inscribed on the front 'VIVAMTINVNOANI', the reverse inscribed with 'AMORIVNTVANVNTVI' divided between two palmettes. 8.76 grams, 38 mm
Private English collection, formed between the late 1970s and early 1990s. 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.12989-245987.
Both inscriptions can be interpreted differently according to the order of their reading; the front can be read ‘IN JUNO ANI VIVAM TI’, which roughly translates as ‘May I live for you in the fastening’, alternatively ‘VIVAM[vs] IN VNO ANI[mo]’ which roughly translates as ‘Let us live as one soul’. The back reads: 'AMORIVNTVANVNTVI' ‘AMOR[is] IVN[c]T[i] ANVNTIV[s]’ which roughly translates as ‘a message of joint love’. The inscriptions on the brooch serve as metaphors, linking its function of fastening materials to the binding of lovers in medieval romance. Gift-giving was central to courtly love, and the brooch symbolised both affection and protection, reminding the wearer of the giver’s love while also warding off unwanted advances.
