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LOT 0395
Post Medieval Agate Cameo of a Lady in Gold Pendant
19TH CENTURY A.D.
1 3/8 in. (6.40 grams, 36 mm).
Carved in low-relief, a female profile bust wearing a straw hat and mantle.
ProvenancePrivate collection, Europe.
Acquired on the English art market.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0395
Post Medieval Agate Cameo of a Lady in Gold Pendant
Estimate £800 - 1,000€930 - 1,160 (for guidance only)$1,080 - 1,350 (for guidance only)
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Egyptian Style Stone Bead Necklace String
20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £26
Composed of small annular turquoise and other stone beads. 4.6 grams, 36 cm
Acquired in the 1990s. Ex London, UK, collection. -
Egyptian Style Green Porphyritic Stone Eye of Horus Pendant
20th century A.D.Estimate: £500 - 700 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £250
Carved from mottled stone wedjat with raised eyebrow, sclera, teardrop and markings, ribbed suspension loop above. 15 grams, 48 mm
Old French collection. UK private collection, acquired from the above in the 2000s. -
Silver-Gilt Mounted Jet 'Figa' Amulet
Spain, 17th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £715
Formed as a hand showing figa gesture, silver mount with applied twisted wires; attachment loop and ring to the top. 19.6 grams, 56 mm
Private collection, Europe. Acquired on the English art market.
Mano Fico, as protective amulets, have been used since antiquity. It was believed to protect from the evil eye and other dark and magical forces and to promote fertility. In ancient Rome, the fig sign, or mano fico, was made by the pater familias (father of the family) to ward off the evil spirits of the dead as a part of the Lemuria ritual. The ancient Greeks wore amulets of the gesture around the neck to protect from the evil eye, and also used the gesture in artwork. What they considered an overtly sexual gesture was expected to distract evil spirits from causing harm. The pendant would have been worn from a belt or from a chatelaine containing other protective talismans. This carving would have served as a token representing a person's pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, one of the very few places in which jet can be found and mined since at least the Middle Ages.
