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LOT 0386
Nuremberg Brass Lion Statue
GERMANY, 16TH CENTURY A.D.
3 3/4 in. (855 grams, 96 mm).
Modelled in a half-seated pose, gazing upwards with compact body, broad forequarters, the mane rendered in long, parallel strands; the tail emerging from underneath the body and resting diagonally on top of the neck.
ProvenanceAcquired on the European art market.
FootnotesThe treatment reflects the continuation of late Gothic conventions within German workshops, while also aligning with the more classicising tendencies found in North Italian bronze production of the period. The anatomical structure is simplified yet purposeful, characteristic of functional or cabinet bronzes produced across central Europe in the sixteenth century. Its scale and form correspond to small bronzes intended for Kunstkammer settings or as elements within larger composite objects such as inkstands or caskets, where the lion served as an emblem of vigilance, authority, and learned taste.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0386
Nuremberg Brass Lion Statue
Estimate £500 - 700€580 - 810 (for guidance only)$680 - 950 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£250 (EUR 290; USD 338) +BP*
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Bedouin Silver-Coloured Metal Ring with Gemstone
20th century A.D.Estimate: £50 - 70 (+bp*)
Bids: 1 | Current Bid: £5
Keeled hoop with decorative panels on the shoulders, oval bezel set with a green glass cabochon with a profile bust. 12.24 grams, 32.81 mm overall, 19.86 mm internal diameter (approximate size British T 1/2, USA 9 3/4, Europe 21.89, Japan 21)
London, UK, collection, 1980s-1990s. -
Tudor Bronze Ring with Floral Bezel
Circa 16th century A.D.Estimate: £40 - 60 (+bp*)
Bids: 1 | Current Bid: £5
With disc bezel, high-relief hexafoil with pellet centre, beaded rim. 3.80 grams, 25.45 mm overall, 20.34 mm internal diameter (approximate size British U, USA 10, Europe 22.52, Japan 21)
Ex North London gentleman; formerly with Robin Symes Gallery, Mayfair, before 1999. Private collection, Suffolk, UK. -
Renaissance Agate Cameo of Two Owls in Gold Ring
Italy, 17th century A.D.Estimate: £3,000 - 4,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,500
Comprising a D-section hoop expanding towards the open-backed setting set with a large brown agate intaglio modelled as two conjoined standing owls, the one at the front facing, and the other looking to the right, intricate feather and facial details, the cameo with a loss on the right-hand side, with the ring incorporating a fine gold repair. 12.74 grams, 24.90 mm overall, 17.00 mm internal diameter (approximate size British M 1/2, USA 6 1/4, Europe 13.09, Japan 12)
Acquired on the European art market. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13318-257961.
Even in the Italian Renaissance, the owl, an ancient symbol of the goddess Athena, symbolised wisdom. The owl was also a symbol of the night and death, as is so eloquently illustrated in the 17th-century painting Vanité à la chouette in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon, which depicts an owl sitting on a human skull next to an extinguished candle.
