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LOT 0385
Post Medieval Gilt Bronze Chalice with Biblical Proverb in Latin
CONTINENTAL EUROPE, CIRCA 19TH CENTURY A.D.
4 3/8 in. (575 grams, 11.2 cm wide).
Squat in profile with stepped and carinated foot, deep shoulder to the bowl; engraved to the outer face in batada script between double horizontal rulings the legend 'Luxuriosa res vinum et tumultuosa ebrietas', a quotation from the biblical book of Proverbs, 20:1, translating to 'Wine is [a] luxurious [thing], and drunkenness is riotous'.
ProvenanceAcquired in Paris, France, circa 2000.
Personal collection of a Suffolk lady, UK.
Cf. Wheeler, R.E.M. (ed.), London Museum Catalogues: No.7, Medieval Catalogue, London, 1940, pl.LIX, for a more elaborate version of the type.
FootnotesThe biblical sentence was retaken by Saint Paul, who, wanting to warn the believers against the power of wine, similarly instructed by saying: ‘Beware of drunken wine, where there is luxury’. This kind of gluttony was considered by the Fathers of the Church dangerous, in that, after it has deprived the drinker of all rational sense, it opens and reveals and releases from his chest every secret, every hidden thing: it was considered a prodigal throwaway of its own goods and those of others, deaf to rebukes, and a destroyer of every praiseworthy custom.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0385
Post Medieval Gilt Bronze Chalice with Biblical Proverb in Latin
Estimate £800 - 1,000€930 - 1,160 (for guidance only)$1,080 - 1,350 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£400 (EUR 464; USD 540) +BP*
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Renaissance Gold Ring with Gem
16th century A.D.Estimate: £1,500 - 2,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £750
Comprising a slender hoop with scroll-decorated shoulders, a high hexagonal colette setting with a point-cut rock crystal with foil backing. 2.75 grams, 22.97 mm overall, 15.54 mm internal diameter (approximate size British I 1/2, USA 4 1/2, Europe 8.07, Japan 7)
Acquired on the European art market. -
Grand Tour Stone Cameo with Bust of Ajax
18th century A.D.Estimate: £300 - 400 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £150
Large oval cameo with profile bust of the Greek hero Ajax, shown bearded and with his helmet pushed up exposing his face. 27.3 grams, 48 mm
UK private collection, acquired on the French art market in the 2000s.
Ajax is recorded in The Iliad as ‘the best man among the Thracians, being both brave and of great stature’. He was one of the strongest warriors for the Achaeans, second only to his cousin Achilles. His epic duel with Hector is detailed in the seventh book of the famed poem by Homer. -
Painting of a Saint by a Follower of Giovanni Bellini
Italy, 1430-1516 A.D.Estimate: £300 - 400 (+bp*)
Bids: 1 | Current Bid: £200
Depicting a bust of a bearded mature man, probably a saint, wearing a yellow cloak and a lighter undergarment, looking to the side with a pensive expression, with a small tuft of grey hair on top of his head; oil on copper panel and set in a moulded frame, an old label on the reverse 'Italian School: 'Study of a Man with a Grey Beard' oil on copper, 7 x 5ins.' 1.26 kg total, 32 x 27.5 cm
Private collection, London, UK.
