Loading, please wait...
Details
LOT 0366
Stuart Period Gold Memento Mori Ring with Skull and Crossed Bones for Ian Shepherd
DATED 1724 A.D.
7/8 in. (4.60 grams, 22.48 mm overall, 18.44 mm internal diameter (approximate size British Q 1/2, USA 8 1/4, Europe 18.12, Japan 17)).
Comprising a D-shaped hoop with foliate and floral decoration, rectangular bezel set with a facetted rock crystal(?) gemstone with a skull and crossed bones beneath the gem; engraved to the inner face 'In˚ Shepherd Obt 20 Jan 1724 æt 62' and a worn maker's mark.
Provenance
Acquired from a London, UK, auction house.
From a private Bristol, UK, collection.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13213-249807.
Literature
Cf. The British Museum, museum number 1961,1202.385, for a similar pattern.
Footnotes
The memento mori jewellery of the 16th-18th centuries served as wearable ‘reminders of mortality’. Typical motifs within this genre included skulls, skeletons, crossbones, hourglasses, coffins, the gravedigger’s pick and shovel, and various other emblems of death and decay.
CONDITIONVETTING:
TimeLine 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:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
LOT 0366
Stuart Period Gold Memento Mori Ring with Skull and Crossed Bones for Ian Shepherd
Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,900
RELATED LOTS
-
Stuart Period Knife with Bronze Figural Handle
17th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £143
Triangular-section single-edged blade with scooped forward edge, short baluster, trapezoidal grip with low-relief foliage design; the final formed as a musician playing a wind instrument, with both hands on the chanter with fingers spread and blowpipe in the mouth. 56.3 grams, 21 mm
From an old English collection formed since 1960. -
Egyptian Style Terracotta Snake
20th century A.D. or earlierSold for (Inc. bp): £59
With D-section body and S-curved coils, head raised and mouth gaping to reveal a forked tongue; repaired. 456 grams, 18 cm
Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016. -
Post-Byzantine Gold Archbishop's Pectoral Pendant
16th-17th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £7,020
Round enkolpion with finely worked icons both on the front and back, and eight small side eyelets for lost pearl ropes on the edge; at the top, a double eyelet for the chain; bordered by a delicate beaded edge with a slight knock in one place due to age; embossed depictions on both sides, finely rendered in repoussé; on the obverse a frontal bust portrait of the deceased Saviour, both arms of Christ limply hanging at his sides, the lifeless head resting on his right shoulder, behind him a nimbus and the cross, to the left of the soma (body of Christ) the abbreviation 'IC' (= Jesus), on the right 'XC' (= Christus), above the head a plaque with a Greek two-line inscription: 'O Basilevs tis doxis Christos' (Christ, the King of Glory); the Virgin Mary (Theotokos) depicted on the back, her hands raised in a gesture of prayer (orans) with exquisitely modelled facial features, flanked by an inscription referring to the Mother of God: the abbreviation 'MP' on the left, 'THY' on the right, furthermore, she is invoked as 'He Gorgoepikoo' (She who is quick to hear). 21.3 grams, 44 mm
Acquired by the previous owner on the European art market in the late 1990s. Property of a German university professor. Hermann Historica, Auction 87, 2020 no.19. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13291-254371.
Adorned with an icon of Christ and the Virgin Mary, this outstanding enkolpion symbolises purity of heart and the seal of confession and faith. Since the Byzantine era, golden enkolpia were pontifical insignia and usually worn by bishops. In this case, the size, the artistic craftsmanship, and the topics of the icons, depictions of Christ and the Theotokos, lead to the conclusion that it must have been the enkolpion of a high-ranking primate or archbishop. Extremely rare in this size and quality. Remarkable is also the artist's choice to depict the Mother of God slightly turned to the right and not show her frontally, as is common.
