Western Asiatic Style Lapis Lazuli Bead Necklace String

Silver cell with beaded band to the equator, fragment of suspension loop; inset sardonyx gemstone with possibly later intaglio profile bull on a baseline with head lowered; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 14.81 grams, 32 mm



Private English collection, formed between the late 1970s and early 1990s. Private collection, London, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13149-248676.

Comprising a rectangular-section body pierced longitudinally with knop finial; lateral bowed arms with scrolled ends rising to the level of the knop and similar flared below; panels of arabesque tendril ornament to both flat faces and to the lateral arms; damaged. 42.9 grams, 38 mm



From an English private collection, 1980s. Property of a London, UK, antiquarian.

There seems to be a good argument for this pommel to be part of the French group of crusader pommels in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and in the University of Chicago, which date to the 12th-13th century A.D. This object has parallels with this group in terms of its crude manufacture, type of enamel, and overall style, as well as the fleur in scallop shape, which is almost identical to the lobes found on many of the circular sword pommels of this group.

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. 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)



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.

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.