Post Byzantine Bronze Reliquary Cross Pendant

Bell-shaped in profile with broad foot and carinated rim; at the neck an applied gold-coloured inlaid band of undulating tendrils, with alternating inset ruby petals; at the shoulder, four small applied plants with green lozengiform flowers; at the waist four large plants with laterally-extended shoots, petals with inset rubies and green inlays; below the waist, a similar band of flowers to that at the shoulder; some wire lose or absent. 468 grams, 12.8 cm high



Property of a South West London gentleman.

The hoop rectangular-section and in the form of a buckled belt with looped end tie and chape with double-bowed and pinned buckle, the outer face inscribed '+HOPE * IS * MI HOLDE' in Roman capitals, continuing 'TILL * HAP * SHALL * HELPE' around the interior; accompanied by a vintage ring box. 2.76 grams, 19.17 mm overall, 16.63 mm internal diameter (approximate size British M, USA 6 1/4, Europe 12.34, Japan 12)



Found whilst searching with a metal detector near Hursley, Hampshire, UK, on Sunday 26th August 2012. Acquired from Berganza, Hatton Garden, London, 2017. Property of an East Sussex collector. Disclaimed under the Treasure Act with reference no.2012 T805. Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme report no.HAMP-62C152. Accompanied by a copy of the Berganza invoice. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11667-197581.

Dr Malcom Jones writes: 'The 'hope' in question here is the lover's hope to be united with the beloved. Hope indeed springs eternal in the lover's heart - as Chaucer says in his contemporary partial translation of that classic of courtly love, the Roman de la Rose -- Nere hope, ther shulde no lover lyve [Without hope no lover could live], and Y leve yn hope is the message on a 15th century signet-ring found in Gloucester, while en bon espoer is the message of another ring and also on a ring-brooch in the British Museum. An elaborate gold ring recently unearthed bears the legend cest mon desir [This is my desire], with each word separated by an open book, and each book's double-page engraved with two letters, es po yr – i.e. espoir [LANCUM469077]. A beautiful openwork brooch in the shape of a trefoil found in Brighton in the nineteenth century, but since lost, bore the legend, en espoir ma vye endure [in hope my life endures], a sentiment echoed on another ring-brooch in the British Museum -- vie i[n] espoir -- while a ring in the Somerset County Museum insists that esperance me conforte [hope comforts me] -- exactly as the first half of our inscription here: HOPE IS MI HOLDE. A close parallel to the legend on the present ring is found in a series of sententious verses preserved in the 14C BL Harl. 2316 [Whiting H465]: Hope is hard ther hap is foo -- 'Hope is hard where fortune is a foe Hap wile helpen ther hope is froo -- Fortune will help where hope is away' In the medieval period many rings bore posy inscriptions in Latin or French, the languages frequently spoken by the affluent elites. Later, inscriptions in English became more usual, although the lack of standardisation in spelling might surprise the modern reader. The inscription is generally found on the interior of the ring, hidden to everyone except the wearer and most of the sentimental mottoes were taken from the popular literature of the time. In fact, love inscriptions often repeat each other, which suggests that goldsmiths used stock phrases. In the later 16th century, ‘posy’ specifically meant a short inscription. A posy is described in contemporary literature as a short ‘epigram’ of less than one verse. George Puttenham (1589) explained that these phrases were not only inscribed on finger rings, but also applied to arms and trenchers. The practice of giving rings engraved with mottoes at betrothals or weddings was common in England from the 16th century onwards, and continued until the late 18th century. Sources suggest that rings could be acquired ready- engraved, or alternatively engraved sometime after their initial production, by a hand other than the goldsmith’s. Joan Evans assumed that posy rings were principally used by/between lovers and distinguished four contexts for the giving of posy rings by one lover to another: betrothals, weddings, St Valentine’s Day and occasions of mourning. Samuel Pepys’ diary makes clear that posy rings might also mark the marriage of a family member, when bearers could even commission their own rings and chose their own mottoes from books. The rings could also function as tokens of friendship or loyalty.

Vellum leaf with pricked guidelines for placement of two columns of red-ink and black-ink text in Ge'ez script with red detailing; recto with two columns of text above a polychrome painted miniature showing a nimbate Mary beside a recumbent bearded figure among buildings with a winged angel above; verso with twenty-two lines of text in two columns. 89 grams, 35.5 x 30 cm



Previously in the David Buxton collection (1910-2003), until the late 1990s.

The scene should represent the miracle of the Virgin Mary to Damianus the scribe: Damianus wrote the name of the Virgin Mary with gold and silver instead of with common black ink. The Virgin Mary appeared to Damianus on his death bed and promises to write his name upon a pillar of gold in the Kingdom of Heaven.