Post Medieval Watch Key Group

A gold ring composed of a slender hoop embellished with tapering, white enamelled shoulders with black enamelled flourishes, fluted box collet setting, set with a pink foil back and table-cut rock crystal; accompanied by a vintage ring box. 1.89 grams, 21.50 mm overall, 16.63 mm internal diameter (approximate size British L 1/2, USA 6, Europe 11.87, Japan 11)



Valued by Bentley & Skinner, Piccadilly, London W1, 2016. Property of an East Sussex collector. Accompanied by a copy of the Bentley & Skinner insurance valuation. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11669-197584.

The V & A Museum explains that during the '...Renaissance, the ring developed from the simple forms of the medieval period into a miniature work of art, combining the skills of the chaser, engraver and enameller as well as the stone cutter.

A gold George I period memento mori ring decorated around the exterior with a stylised human skeleton against a black enamelled field, the body featuring an elongated neck, exaggerated numbers of ribs and disproportionately short legs, with a crescent at the base of the feet; interior engraved 'SN 17.17'. 3.15 grams, 20.76 mm overall, 18.77 mm internal diameter (approximate size British Q 1/2, USA 8 1/4, Europe 18.12, Japan 17)



Acquired in the late 1990s-2000. Property of an East London gentleman.

A bifacial wooden cross comprising intertwined elements with trefoil finials, resting on a tall stem decorated with wavy lines enclosed within a geometric frame, the stem resting on a tabula with an inscription on the front and vegetal decorative element on the back, rhomboidal termination with inscribed cross on both sides; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 600 grams, 43 cm high (50.7 cm high including stand)



Acquired from Owen Hargreaves, 2003. UK private collection.

The Ethiopian manual cross is usually divided in three parts: the cross at the top; the handle; and a square element, the tablet, at the base. It is not easy to define the origin of the cross-borne tablets. There are three suppositions as to what they signify: according to one, the tablet represents the earth with its four corners. According to the second one, the tablet represents Adam's grave on Calvary. The third one is that it represents the Tabot, the highest relic of Ethiopia, the Ark of the Covenant. The cross belongs to the Kernebege (Horns of Ram) group, where the tips of the cross are reminiscent of ram's horns or trefoils. Inscriptions are only very rarely found on wooden, manual crosses like this maskal. They usually give the name of the owner or donor.