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LOT 0354
Stuart Period Gold Mourning Ring with Rock Crystal Gemstone
ENGLAND, 18TH CENTURY A.D.
3/4 in. (3.33 grams, 20.04 mm overall, 17.17 mm internal diameter (approximate size British M, USA 6, Europe 12.46, Japan 12)).
Decorated with black enamelled foliate engraving; bezel set with a table cut rock crystal compartment containing some hair of the deceased; inner face engraved ‘Capt(ain). G Squrritt ob 1 Jan 1724’ and the maker's mark ‘GE’.
ProvenancePrivate collection, Europe.
Acquired on the English art market.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13055-248357.
Cf. a similar mourning rings in PAS no.DEV-CE0643, GLO-AF102B.
FootnotesMourning rings were made to commemorate the death of an individual. Similar examples are held in the British Museum's collection, including AF.1547; AF.1551; AF.1550; AF.1552; AF.1549. While the majority of mourning rings tend to refer to the deceased by initials and death only, this ring mentions the deceased's family name in full, which is usually the case for people of note/influence.
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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LOT 0354
Stuart Period Gold Mourning Ring with Rock Crystal Gemstone
Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,860
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Marble Head of the Greek Goddess Aphrodite
18th-19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £5,460
Modelled in the round as a bust of a youthful female, possibly Aphrodite with her hair bound by a narrow filet tied at the nape of the neck and the tails retained by a flat ribbon at the rear; the face perhaps modelled on the statue 'Aphrodite of Knidos' by Praxiteles; socket to crown of the head for attachment of a nimbus (now absent); mounted on a socle base. 12.6 kg, 40.5 cm
Acquired on the Los Angeles 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.13095-249678.
This magnificent head of a woman with an elaborate hairstyle is in perfect harmony with the artistic works of several neo-classical sculptors of 18th century, yet subtly different from it in stylistic terms, like Giovanni Marchiori, and to the so-called stone Venus or Flora in the Museo Civico di Treviso. -
Tudor Period Lead 'Horn Book' Teaching Aid
1600-1633 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,510
A rare complete and undamaged rectangular plaque bearing raised, moulded text on the obverse; with hatched three horizontal bars and two pelletted between five registers, framing the letters of the alphabet '+ABCDE / FGHIKL / MN[reversed]OPq / RSTVW / +Y[Z]'; tree with berries on a hatched field to the reverse. 26.8 grams, 53 mm
Found whilst searching with a metal detector near Kniveton, Derbyshire Dales, UK. Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report no.WMID-341C6A.
The letter 'U' has been omitted from the alphabet, as is common with such objects, as has the letter 'J', suggesting that the book was produced prior to the publication of Charles Butler's English Grammar (1633), which first distinguished between I and J. The letter Z is reversed. Hornbooks were employed as learning aids and commonly made from paper mounted onto wood, together with a transparent sheet of horn. Smaller, more portable lead-alloy examples such as this one are generally believed to have been mass-produced, whilst still falling within the genre of 'hornbooks'. -
Ancient Style Sapphire Gemstone with Head of Medusa
18th-19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,170
Incuse gorgoneion with writhing snakes. 0.37 grams, 6 mm
Acquired on the European art market. Private collection, England.
