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LOT 1659
Medieval 'Thames' Bifacial Pewter Wine Tavern Token
CIRCA 14TH-15TH CENTURY A.D.
5/8 in. (0.56 grams, 17 mm).
Obverse with wayfarer in profile wearing hooded cloak and carrying a staff and bundle, reverse with quatrefoil. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFound Billingsgate spoil from the Thames foreshore, London, UK, circa 1984.
Property of an Essex collector.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 1659
Medieval 'Thames' Bifacial Pewter Wine Tavern Token
Sold for (Inc. bp): £46
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Medieval Limestone 'Pictish Type' Fish Carving
Circa 15th-16th century A.D. or earlierEstimate: £500 - 700 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £250
Rectangular block with high-relief carving to the upper face, comprising two fishes placed side-by-side, one with heavy scale detailing, the other with a bifurcated tail; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 24 kg total, 51 cm wide including stand
Discovered in part of a stone garden wall during demolition. Ex Stamford deceased estate, Lincolnshire, UK. Property of a Cambridgeshire, UK, gentleman.
The carving style bears similarities to the low-relief carvings on Pictish picture stones, although a close match for the subject matter is absent. A stone recorded at Dunnicaer, Scotland, is carved with a fish symbol but its execution is very sparse and linear in comparison with the heavy detailing of the present piece. See Noble, G., The Problem with the Picts, in Current Archaeology, issue 134, June 2020. -
Medieval Knight's Enamelled Bronze Heraldic Stud with Cross
14th-15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £26
Heater-shaped plaque with stud to the reverse; inlaid enamel saltire engrailed. 6 grams, 17 mm
Found Cambridgeshire, UK. -
Medieval Prophet Cutting from an Illustrated Manuscript
Florence, Italy, circa 1470 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £780
Discoid glazed mount with tiered profile, painted miniature of an Old Testament prophet with epigraphic scroll and incomplete Latin inscription reciting 'Hic e Deus tuus..et non estimavi ali...ac illus' [He is your God...and I did not estimate other...and He...' 57 grams, 11.4 cm
Private collection, Tuscany, inherited, 1969. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12059-217465.
The illumination is from a cutting of dismembered codex, likely representing a book of the Old Testament. In 15th century North Italy there were proficient artists realising images on vellum, like the Master of Murano Gradual (active between 1430-1460). The miniature represents an Eastern Prophet, dressed with turban and long coat, maybe Ezekiel, or Abacuc, or even Moses, a prophet linked with the prophecies related to the Messiah.
