Post Medieval Glazed Ceramic Chamber Pot

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.

Composed of beads of various types, including annular, chamfered coin-shaped beads and gold-coloured granulated spacer beads. 34.8 grams, 59.5 cm long



From the collection of a London gentleman.

Comprising three sheets joined together, bearing neat and regular lines of red and black inked script, together with associated images; the text including prayers for barya and evil eye, for Shotäläy and magical machination; the images representing two guardian angels at the top and bottom, Archangels Michael and Gabriel, within a geometric frame; at the bottom a picture of a jewelled cross with red triangles inserted within the arms; the owner's name given as Wällättä Maryam Beré. 56 grams, 1.97 m



Ex Adalberto Frezza, 2006. Ex central London gallery.

The sick looked upon such scrolls as it was believed that the images contained in them had healing powers. The scrolls were prepared by unordained clerics, or debatras, employed by Christian families, a practice which continued into the 20th century. Debatras were skilled at diagnosing the causes of illness, and treated them through scrolls such as that offered here, together with herbal and plant-based remedies; the images and prayers were believed to act on the spiritual source of the ailment, whilst the botanical remedies acted upon the physical symptoms. The scrolls covered the length of the afflicted person's body, providing preventative as well as curative protection and were often passed down through generations of the same family. The patients were often illiterate peasants, and the scrolls written in archaic Ge'ez, a liturgical language comprehended only by clerics; the debatras explained the prayers and the images to the sick. The images are designed to be mesmeric, the penetrating gaze of eyes from within the design giving them a sense of power.