Tibetan Glass Necklace Prayer Bead Group

Three intaglio busts facing, comprising: left, youthful female with long neck and neatly bound hair, mantle to the shoulders; centre, facing bearded male with diadem topped by a quatrefoil; right, youthful male with short hair and neat beard; cut in the Roman style of the 3rd century A.D; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 9.27 grams, 35 mm



Private collection, England.

The three figures may represent Venus, Jupiter and Mars.

Modelled in the round with gracile features, braided hair, arched diadem to the brow. 32 kg, 42 cm high including stand



Private collection, England. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.13081-249676.

The type of sculpture seems to be inspired by the type of the Barberini Hera, a Roman copy from the imperial age, today in the Chiaramonti Museum (Vatican Museums). The sculpture was discovered by the antiquarian Leonardo Agostini in the late 17th century, during excavations on the Viminal Hill. The site was located beneath the convent affiliated with the church of San Lorenzo in Panisperna, an area known to have hosted the ancient Baths of Olympiades. Its identification as the Barberini Hera was established by its early owner, Cardinal Francesco Barberini.

Slender shank and expanding shoulders formed as lace cuffs, the bezel a pair of clasped hands gripping a heart. 3.71 grams, 23.07 mm overall, 20.14 mm internal diameter (approximate size British T, USA 9 1/2, Europe 21.26, Japan 20)



Private collection, Europe. Acquired on the English art market.

The two clasping hands with elaborate cuffs clutch a heart. This ring features the ancient fede motif of two hands clasped together, however in their grasp is a heart. These symbols represented love and fidelity. The ring was likely a token of love symbolising everlasting devotion, or possibly a betrothal ring. The word Fede takes its name from the Italian word for faith or trust with the two clasped hands symbolising an attachment that usually led to marriage. The motif of the two clasped hands was already in use in ancient Rome, it was a symbol of pledging of vows, which derives from the Roman ‘dextarum iunctio’ (right hand joined). Fede rings remained popular throughout Europe until well into the 19th century with their peak of manufacture during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.