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LOT 0405
Silver-Gilt Mounted Jet 'Figa' Amulet
SPAIN, 17TH CENTURY A.D.
2 1/4 in. (19.6 grams, 56 mm).
Formed as a hand showing figa gesture, silver mount with applied twisted wires; attachment loop and ring to the top.
ProvenancePrivate collection, Europe.
Acquired on the English art market.
Mano Fico, as protective amulets have been used since the ancient world, it was believed to protect from the evil eye and other dark and magical forces and to promote fertility. In ancient Rome, the fig sign, or mano fico, was made by the pater familias (father of the family) to ward off the evil spirits of the dead as a part of the Lemuria ritual. The ancient Greeks wore amulets of the gesture around the neck to protect from the evil eye, and also used the gesture in artwork. What they considered an overtly sexual gesture was expected to distract evil spirits from causing harm. The pendant would have been worn from a belt or from a chatelaine containing other protective talismans. This carving would have served as a token representing a person's pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, one of the very few places in which jet can be found and mined since at least the Middle Ages.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0405
Silver-Gilt Mounted Jet 'Figa' Amulet
Estimate £700 - 900€810 - 1,040 (for guidance only)$950 - 1,220 (for guidance only)
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Italian Bronze Hand-Shaped Desk Seal
17th century A.D.Estimate: £2,000 - 3,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,000
Formed as a left hand with flange rim to the cuff and wrist, ring to the third finger; stud to the reverse with geralfic seal, heater shield with helmet and lambrequin, underside with stud and profile bust. 453 grams, 13.5 cm
Acquired on the UK art market. Private collection, England. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13087-249670.
In the 17th century, Italian noble seals were crucial heraldic instruments, depicting family crests, often surmounted by crowns (counts, marquises, princes) or helmets, and enriched with family specific symbols (e.g., vines for the Panevinos), portraits on horseback, or elements linked to ecclesiastical offices (papal keys) to authenticate documents, reflecting the prestige and authority of noble houses and civic patricians. -
Large Post-Classical Agate Gemstone with Zeus Serapis Allegory
17th century A.D. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £910
Ellipsoid in plan with chamfer to reverse edge; incuse scene comprising a baseline with fluted column at each surmounted by an inward-facing profile; at base, a perching eagle with head turned and wreath in its beak; above, profile bust of Serapis with modius, crescent moon and sunburst; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 14.4 grams, 40 mm
Private collection, England. -
Russian Orthodox Enamelled Bronze Travel Icon with Saints Zosima and Sabbas
Circa 1820 A.D.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £54
Depicting Saint Zosima and Saint Sabbas in front of the Solovetsky Monastery, both nimbate and dressed in the Abbot’s garments, holding the model of the monastery offered to God, represented in the sky as a dove upon a cloud; arabesque frame; inscriptions in Old Slavonic with the names of the saints. 108 grams, 88 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.
Saints Zosima and Sabbas or Sabbatius were highly venerated Orthodox saints, founders of the Solovetsky Monastery, a fortified monastery located in the White Sea in Northern Russia. This double portrait shows Zosima and Sabbas holding up a model of their religious institution, which resembles a small medieval city. Solovetsky Monastery obtained big investments from the city of Novgorod and established itself as one of the richest monasteries in Russia.
