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LOT 0359
Renaissance Agate Cameo of Two Owls in Gold Ring
ITALY, 17TH CENTURY A.D.
1 in. (12.74 grams, 24.90 mm overall, 17.00 mm internal diameter (approximate size British M 1/2, USA 6 1/4, Europe 13.09, Japan 12)).
Comprising a D-section hoop expanding towards the open-backed setting set with a large brown agate intaglio modelled as two conjoined standing owls, the one at the front facing, and the other looking to the right, intricate feather and facial details, the cameo with a loss on the right-hand side, with the ring incorporating a fine gold repair.
ProvenanceAcquired on the European art market.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13318-257961.
See Sotheby’s Bond Street, 06 December 2016, Old Master Sculpture and Works of Art Including Highlights from the Reinhold Hofstätter Collection, London, 2016, lot 62, for similar.
FootnotesEven in the Italian Renaissance, the owl, an ancient symbol of the goddess Athena, symbolised wisdom. The owl was also a symbol of the night and death, as is so eloquently illustrated in the 17th-century painting Vanité à la chouette in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon, which depicts an owl sitting on a human skull next to an extinguished candle.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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Post Medieval Coral-Coloured Bead Group
20th century A.D. or earlierSold for (Inc. bp): £7
Comprising mainly oblate beads, possibly glass, restrung. 212 grams total, 14-19 mm
Acquired in the 1990s. Ex London, UK, collection. -
Late Renaissance Double-Sided Heliotrope Cameo of Christ and the Virgin in Gold Ring
Italy, 17th century A.D.Estimate: £3,500 - 4,500 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,750
Comprising a dark green oval cameo with bright red flecks, on the upper side, a veiled head of Mary with a solemn expression, the underside featuring a classical depiction of bearded Jesus with long hair and wearing a draped garment; set in a substantial gold ring with a wide hoop. 15.59 grams, 25.53 mm overall, 16.26 mm internal diameter (approximate size British K, USA 5 1/4, Europe 9.95, Japan 9)
Acquired on the European art market. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13390-257998.
It was believed that the scarlet flecks in the stone were the blood of Christ, hence its popular use for the subject of Christ throughout the Middle Ages until the 19th century. -
Russian Bronze Travel Icon with the Three Hierachs of Orthodoxy
19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £221
Depicting Saint Basil the Great, Saint Gregory the Theologian and Saint John Chrysostomus, all nimbate and holding their holy writings, under the vision of the Holy Mandylion; Saint Basil wearing a bishop's sakkos, the other two wearing the usual orthodox priest's garb, phelonia; all three wearing a brocade band, omophorion, with four crosses; inscriptions in Old Slavonic with the names of the Saints, on the Nimbus of Jesus, the letters 'O Ѡ N' (‘I AM’); names of the Saints in the background in Old Slavonic; framed by double moulding, the first decorated with crenellated elements, the second with arabesques. 270 grams, 11.5 cm
Acquired from Chris Martin-Zakheim, Iconastas, 5 Piccadilly Arcade, London SW1. From the private collection of a West London, UK, gentleman, formed since the early 2000s.
The icon is the so-called icon of the three hierarchs, Saint Gregory the Theologian (Gregory of Nazianzus), Saint Basil the Great (Basil of Caesarea) and Saint John Chrysostom, archbishop of Constantinople. All three were important fathers of the church who strove to clarify and crystallise Dogma, for the unity of the faith, of the Liturgy and the needs of philosophy and letters.
