Russian Orthodox Enamelled Bronze Travel Icon with Saint Julyttas and Her Son Cyricus

Showing Saint George on horseback, dispatching the dragon with a spear thrust; the Saint dressed in a soft cuirass and seated on a high-ended saddle secured by breast, rump, and belly straps; on the right, the walls of Trebisonda and on the bottom right the princess; Old Slavic inscription on the top, reciting Saint George of Cappadocia (Свято́й Гео́ргий Каппадоки́йский); at the top, the Christ Mandylion inscribed inside a cross. 71 grams, 87 mm



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.

According to the Christian tradition, Saint George would have lived between the end of the 3rd century and the beginning of the 4th century: born into a noble Christian family, he became an officer in the Roman army and was then named a prefect by Diocletian. But when the same emperor decided to resume the persecutions, Saint George became a victim despite his important political rank. His role in the development of the faith is so important that he is included among the Great Martyrs of the Eastern Church and his fight against the dragon becomes a symbol par excellence of the fight for good which defeats evil.

Depicting Cupid tenderly holding Psyche in his arms after a kiss, Psyche's arms reaching towards his head; Cupid in a dynamic pose with separately made wings, depicted nude except for a vine-leaf; Psyche resting on a rock with her lower body loosely wrapped in a folded garment; inscription on the lower edge 'P. Bazzanti Florence'; mounted on a marble pedestal. It is regarded as a masterpiece of Neoclassical sculpture, but shows the mythological lovers at a moment of great emotion, characteristic of the emerging movement of Romanticism. Or alabaster 122 kg total, 166 cm



Private collection, London. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13005-246436.

Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss is a sculpture by Italian artist Antonio Canova first commissioned in 1787 by Colonel John Campbell (later Lord Cawdor). It is one of Canova's most popular marbles which represents a well known passage from Apuleius' The Golden Ass, in which Psyche faints after having opened Proserpine's vase and is revived by Cupid's kiss. The original sculpture is today in the Musée du Louvre (M.R. 1777). In 1796 the Russian nobleman Prince Yusupov acquired a second version from Canova in Rome, and that example is today preserved in the Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg.

Mixed group of figurines in various styles and poses; after the antique. 635 grams total, 11.4-18.5 cm



Ex London art market 1990s. From a London, UK, collection. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.