Merovingian Gilt Silver Ring with Garnet

A rectangular bronze brooch decorated with punched ring-and-dot motifs and openwork lettering, possibly 'RIC/VLF'; hinged pin and catch to reverse. 15.6 grams, 43 mm

Fine condition.

Acquired 1970s-1980s. Ex UK collection. Property of a Portsmouth, UK gentleman.

The item was probably part of a Merovingian belt fitting, later transformed in brooch with the application of the pin and catch. The name 'Riculf' or 'Ricolf' belonged to a bishop of Cologne, Germany, from 763 to 784 A.D.

A fishtail-shaped bone amulet or strap end displaying vertically arranged stylised figural panels: at the top, a central facing bust flanked by two further busts; a standing central figure with arms held skywards, a robed figure standing to each side holding his torso, one in a floor-length female garment and the other with one leg advancing showing trousers; an animal facing left below; panel with central vertical divide below, each populated with two busts, one pair facing left, the other facing right; ring-and-dot motifs with radiating lines below, possibly stylised sun motifs; two perforations to top edge for suspension; natural shrinkage crack, mostly evident to the reverse. 23.4 grams, 12 cm

Fine condition, shallow crack to reverse.

Previously in the Alison Barker collection, a retired London barrister. From a Cambridge collection. Property of a North London gentleman.

The standing animal may represent the lupa or she-wolf which nurtured Romulus and Remus in the mythical story of the founding of Rome. The Emperor Julian, later known as 'the Apostate', was responsible for turning his back on Christianity and promoting a return to traditional Roman values, which included veneration of 'Roma' and the founding legends.

A carved bone panel, roughly triangular in plan with a curved profile, carved in relief with a stylised figural scene: left, above: two figures standing right, four large heads below; partial figures with a hound facing left above right, text below: 'JVLIANVS'; panel of five orderly rows of heads facing left, with geometric border below; notching to the edges to reverse; repaired. 31.4 grams, 91 mm



Previously in the Alison Barker collection, a retired London barrister. From a Cambridge collection. Property of a North London gentleman.

The piece is probably a panel from a carved casket. The imagery relates to the Emperor Julian, later known as 'the Apostate', who was the cousin of Emperor Constantius II and ruled from 3 November 361-26 June 363. Julian was well-educated in the Greek tradition and rejected the Christian faith imposed on the eastern Empire under his uncle, Constantine. On his succession, Julian embarked on a military campaign against the Sassanian Empire in 363 which initially went well, but at the battle of Samarra in the same year he was badly wounded.