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LOT 1723
Medieval Silver Ring with Star of David
15TH-16TH CENTURY A.D.
7/8 in. (3.38 grams, 22.94 mm overall, 19.66 mm internal diameter (approximate size British Q, USA 8, Europe 17.49, Japan 16)).
With a ribbed hoop supporting a round bezel with a six-pointed star in niello on a foliate background. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceUK private collection before 2000.
On the UK art market.
Property of a London gentleman.
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AUCTIONS:
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'The Witham on the Hill' Medieval Gold 'The Beautiful Game' Posy Ring with Matched Pairs of Flowers
Circa 1400-1500 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £4,160
Flat-section straightened hoop with incised blackletter text 'le belle ie[u]' translating to 'the beautiful game' with interposed flowers and stalks. 1.68 grams, 16.92 mm overall, 15.39 mm internal diameter (approximate size British I 1/2, USA 4 1/2, Europe 8.07, Japan 7)
Found whilst searching with a metal detector near Witham on the Hill, South Kesteven, Lincolnshire, UK, on Sunday 9th January 2022, by Mark Bowen. Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report no.CAM-D675E8. Accompanied by a copy of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Treasure receipt and and disclaimed with Treasure case tracking no.2022T153. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12139-214843.
The final word of the inscription is ie for ie[u], an Anglo-Norman spelling of modern French jeu ‘game’. The game in question is, of course, love (not football!). The ‘game’ of love here is what we now refer to as Courtly Love (amour courtois, fin amor) and the phrase ‘beautiful game’ is also found on another ring recorded on the PAS database as YORYM-0A0FD2, the whole, a rhyming couplet, reading AMIE EN VV/ [E]ST MA VIE BELE GIEV [Beloved, in you my life is a beautiful game]. -
Medieval Bone Gaming Dice Set
12th-16th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
Graduated set of three dice, each cuboid with ring-and-dot markings disposed 1:6, 2:5, 3:4. 2.2 grams total, 5-8 mm
From the important private collection of dice and gaming pieces of Colin Narbeth, London, UK, collection no.129. -
Medieval Bronze Decorated Fighting Cock Spur
14th-16th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £286
Comprising an ellipsoid loop and slender triangular pointed spur; low-relief scrolled tendril ornament to the outer face. 3.46 grams, 25 mm
Acquired on the UK art market in the 1980s. From an East Anglian private collection.
