LOT 2126

Post Medieval Gilt Plaque with Winged Cherub

17TH-18TH CENTURY A.D.

7 1/2 in. (33 grams, 19 cm).

Depicted with a young face, curly hair, crowned by a halo, six radiating wings with feather detail; two holes for attachment. [No Reserve]

Acquired Brigantia Antiques, York, UK, circa 2007.
Ian Wilkinson collection, Nottinghamshire, UK, formed since 1985.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.

Cf. similar liturgical fan (flabellum-riphidion) with six-winged seraphim, 18th century, State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia.

The plaque represents the central applique of a riphidion, an ecclesiastic fan worn by the Deacons during the Liturgical celebration of the Orthodox Church. The iconography refers to the Cherubim, the Angelic creatures with many wings and many eyes, ‘Singing the triumphal hymn, exclaiming, proclaiming, and saying' Holy, holy, holy. Fans are appointed to symbolise the invisible presence of the angels during significant liturgical acts. They are carried in the Great Entrance while the choir sings, ‘We who mystically represent the Cherubim and who sing the thrice-holy hymn to the life-creating Trinity, now lay aside all cares of this life, that we may receive the King of All, who comes invisibly escorted by the angelic host’. The altar servers take the place of angels, and they carry seraphic fans like the ancient Roman soldiers who carry the banner of their regiment.