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Lot 213
1st-4th century AD or later. A gold ring with evenly sized shank with beaded edge, decorated over whole surface in high relief scrolling vine leaf and grape pattern. Property of a gentleman; acquired in the late 1960s-early 1970s. 9 grams, 22.80mm overall, 18.55mm internal diameter (approximate size British Q 3/4, USA 8 1/2, Europe 59, Japan 17) (1"). Very fine condition. A large wearable size.
Lot 216
1st-3rd century AD. A gold ring with round shank with gold wire at the shoulders; bezel with filigree wave pattern and set with a cameo with Cupid (Eros"). From a private collection; formed 1965-1975. 5 grams, 22.94mm overall, 20.52mm internal diameter (approximate size British V 1/4, USA 10 3/4, Europe 63, Japan 23) (3/4"). Extremely fine condition.
Lot 225
1st-3rd century AD. A gold ring with tapering shank, filigree pattern to the shoulder, bezel set with garnet intaglio with bust of Jupiter (Zeus) wearing oak leaf crown. Property of a gentleman; acquired in the late 1960s-early 1970s. 7 grams, 22.62mm overall, 20.42mm internal diameter (approximate size British V 1/4, USA 10 3/4, Europe 63, Japan 23) (3/4"). Fine condition, worn.
Lot 309
1st-3rd century AD. A gold ring with rounded shank tapering to the bottom; the bezel narrow and set with a red glass intaglio depicting Jupiter (Zeus) wearing wreath. Property of an Essex gentleman; previously acquired on the London art market prior to 1980. The bust is that of the famous gold and ivory statue created by the Greek sculptor Phidias in 435 BC for for the temple of Zeus at Olympia. This statue would go on to be one of the Seven Wonders of the World, and was considered to be Phidias' best work. The statue was forty feet high and represented Zeus seated on a elaborate throne and holding a figure of Nike, goddess of Victory. The statue was revered across all of the ancient world and was moved to Constantinople where it decorated the palace of Lausus, eventually to be destroyed during riots in the fifth century AD. 3.31 grams, 23.79mm overall, 18.24mm internal diameter (approximate size British Q, USA 8, Europe 57 3/4, Japan 16) (1"). Very fine condition.
Lot 314
3rd century AD. A hollow-formed gold hoop D-section hoop with expanding shoulders, plaque with cell and inset yellow-brown jasper cloison, intaglio design of an altar flanked by ears of wheat, barley and a poppy seed-head. Property of a London gentleman; acquired before 1980. Cf. Ruseva-Slokoska, L. Roman Jewellery, Sofia, 1991, item 200. The images on the ring indicate that the owner was a devotee of Demeter (Ceres) and Persephone, and likely an initiate in the mysteries of Eleusis. Persephone, known in the Roman pantheon as Proserpina, was the daughter of Zeus (Jupiter) and was abducted by Hades (Pluto), who took her to the underworld to be his queen. Thereafter, she spent one-third of the year in the underworld, where her absence from the world above brought about winter. The other two-thirds of the year she was believed to spend on earth with her mother, her arrival ushering in Spring and the growth of plants. Both Demeter and Persephone were goddesses of vegetation; the seasonal growth, death and rebirth of nature was central to the Eleusinian mysteries whereby the initiate could hope for rebirth through the intervention of the goddesses and by knowledge of the cult's secrets. 3.36 grams, 20mm overall, 18.42mm internal diameter (approximate size British Q, USA 8 1/4, Europe 17.77, Japan 17) (3/4"). Fine condition.
Lot 505
6th-8th century AD. A matched pair of gold earrings, each a hook and loop with teardrop amethyst to the underside, chevron rod with hooked ends engaging looped ends of a crescentic dangle with row of pearls to the outer edge, independently suspended pearl and amethyst to the centre. From an important collection of Christian artefacts, formed in London in the 1980s. Byzantine jewellery was a full continuation of the Roman traditions which were kept alive at the new capital, Constantinople, as well as other centres of artistic tradition, such as Antioch. In the Byzantine Empire jewellery played an important role. It acted as a way to express ones status and as a diplomatic tool. In 529 AD Emperor Justinian took up laws regulating the wearing and usage of jewellery in a new set of laws, later to be called the Justinian Code. He explicitly writes that sapphires, emeralds and pearls are reserved for the emperor's use but every free man is entitled to wear a gold ring. Pearls were prized in the previous Hellenistic and Roman periods, but seem even more so in the Byzantine empire The mosaics of San Vitale at Ravenna, Italy, depict Justinian and his wife, the empress Theodora, sumptuously bedecked in pearl encrusted diadems, necklaces and brooches. 14 grams total, 58mm (2 1/4"). [2] Very fine condition.
Lot 6
2nd millennium BC. A leaf-shaped sheet gold plaque from a diadem with twisted loop finials, repoussé circle with central boss and ring of annulets, palmettes to the outer ends. Property of a central London gentleman; formerly in the Tony Brandon collection, London, UK; formed 1980s; collection number 163. Supplied with a positive X-Ray Fluorescence metal analysis certificate. Cf. Higgins, R. Minoan and Mycenean Art, London, 1967, item 211. Accompanied by an Art Loss Register certificate. The shape of this diadem is very similar to the one found by Heinrich Schliemann in 1876 in shaft grave III at the palace of Mycenae. This diadem included seven spear shaped attachments that gave the impression of a sunburst. All of the gold objects found in the graves included the spiral decoration typical of Mycenaean art. A central aspect of Mycenaean material culture were their cyclopean tombs with kings and nobles buried in the so-called two grave circles at Mycenae, which were areas of shaft graves surrounded by a low limestone wall. The bodies were buried in a foetal or sitting position, and some underwent slight mummification. 7.22 grams, 16cm (6 1/4"). Fine condition.
Lot 7
Early 2nd millennium BC. A large sheet gold parallel-sided diadem band with repoussé rosettes each comprising a central ring-and-dot and six radiating volute scrolls; pierced at each end for attachment to a fabric(?) band. Property of a central London gentleman; formerly in the Tony Brandon collection, London, UK; formed 1980s; collection number 225. Cf. Higgins, R.A. Greek and Roman Jewellery, London, 1961, item 11(D"). 10 grams, 37cm (14 1/2"). Fair condition; one end displaced.
Lot 783
2nd-1st millennium BC. A gold band ring with three parallel lines incised across the body of the ring. From an old Munich collection; acquired on the German art market before 2000. See Clarke, C.V, Cowie, T.G, and Foxon, A, Symbols of Power in the Time of Stonehenge, London, 1985. 7 grams, 21.64mm overall, 19.59mm internal diameter (approximate size British T 1/4, USA 9 3/4, Europe 61 1/2, Japan 20) (3/4"). [No Reserve] Fine condition. A large wearable size.
Lot 9
4th-1st century BC. A gold ring with central rib running along the shank, to the bottom is a flattened section inscribed with ????; to one side of the shank is inscribed ?????; the bezel is raised and surrounded by small filigree and set with an eye shaped garnet. From an important Mayfair, London, UK, collection; acquired 1980s. The inscription on this ring is an abbreviated form of a longer phrase and may be related to the class of magical rings that were worn in the ancient world to avert danger and the evil eye. Often the words are nonsensical or include the names of guardian spirits or even Jewish names for God. The Hellenistic period is characterised by an avid interest in magic and many ancient papyri, amulets and ritual objects survive. Amulets were a very widespread type of magic, because of the fear of other types of magic, such as curses, being used against oneself. Various gemstones were also believed to have magical properties, such as garnet which, due to it being the same colour as blood, was believed to have the power of regeneration. 6 grams, 24.52mm overall, 20.57mm internal diameter (approximate size British V 1/4, USA 10 3/4, Europe 63, Japan 23) (1"). Very fine condition. A large wearable size. Rare.
Lot 960
9th-12th century AD. A gold flat sectioned ring formed from a strip of gold folded round to make a double band, stamped with triangle pattern, ends twisted about the body. Property of a Cambridgeshire collector; acquired continental Europe 1950s; by descent 2004. 7 grams, 23.04mm overall, 20.03mm internal diameter (approximate size British U, USA 10 1/4, Europe 62 3/4, Japan 21) (3/4"). Very fine condition.
Lot 962
8th-9th century AD. A Viking or Carolingian lozengiform plate brooch with integral coiled spring, pin and catch; the surface with median line of punched ring-and-dot motifs flanked by opposed pellet-in-triangle motifs and further pellets in the field; the pin twisted about its own axis to provide grip. Property of a UK collector; formerly in a Cambridgeshire collection, acquired 1990s. Supplied with a positive X-Ray Fluorescence metal analysis certificate. Cf. Hammond, B. British Artefacts vol.2 - Middle Saxon & Viking, Witham, 2010, p.44-45. Accompanied by an Art Loss Register certificate. The style of decoration on this brooch is the same found on a number of Thor's Hammer pendants, such as a gold example found in East Lindsey, Lincolnshire, and another from a hoard found at Vaalse, in Falster, Denmark. It is believed that the decoration is meant to depict miniature axes or hammers, and are related to the cult of Thor and provided protection to the wearer. 5.48 grams, 39mm (1 1/2"). Extremely fine condition. Rare.
Lot 964
8th-11th century AD. A gold pendant with a facetted and polished quartz crystal set in a cage of twisted gold wire attached to a disc of gold at the base, wires of the cage twisted together at the top to form a suspension loop and with split ring. From an old Munich collection; acquired on the German art market before 2000. See Meaney, A. Anglo-Saxon Amulets and Curing Stones, Oxford, BAR British Series 96, 1981. The pendant is one of series of quartz amulets that have been discovered from the Viking world, with an important group being found on the island of Visby, Sweden. The exact purpose of these amulets is not known but they have been found in female graves and it has been suggested that they served a magical function for use by seers, known as Völur or fjölkunnig, meaning plenty of knowing. Völur practiced seiðr, practices which encompassed shamanism, sorcery, prophecy and other forms of indigenous magic. Historical and mythological depictions of völur show that they were held in high esteem and believed to possess such powers that even the father of the gods, Odin himself, consulted them to learn what the future had in store for the gods. 8 grams, 45mm (1 1/4"). [No Reserve] Very fine condition.
Lot 10
2nd-1st century BC. A double ring formed as two gold round-section hoops with two scaphoid bezels flanked by granules and a third discoid plaque between the hoops; the outer edge of each plaque with ropework border, cabochon garnets and amethyst insert. Ex property of a London gentleman; acquired 1990s. In the Classical world amethyst was associated with Dionysus the god of wine, due to the purple of the stone colour being likened to wine. It was believed that wearing the stone would keep a person sober when drinking. Pliny described garnets as being male and female according to the depth of colour. He also mentions that the best garnets came from India where they were considered as sacred. 10 grams, 45mm overall, larger hoop: 19.86mm internal diameter (approximate size British T 1/2, USA 10, Europe 22.33, Japan 21); smaller hoop: 17.96mm internal diameter (approximate size British P, USA 7 1/2, Europe 16.23, Japan 15) (1 3/4"). Very fine condition. A large wearable size.
Lot 1033
9th-11th century AD. A gold discoid pendant with strip of gold looped over to form the suspension ring; body decorated with punched dots to form a sun burst. Property of an American collector; acquired 1980-2000. Cf. Arbman, H. Birka I: Die Gräber, Uppsala, 1940, plate 97, items 8-16. 0.65 grams, 13.7mm (1/2"). Fine condition.
Lot 1117
Late 14th-15th century AD. A flat-section gold hoop formed as seven rectangular plaques and a larger bezel; the lateral plaques each with an incised expanding-arm cross; one shoulder with pointillé border and profile nimbate bust, bearded, holding a cross before the face, '????' beside the cross, '???' (Iohannis, John) behind; the other shoulder with pointillé border and profile nimbate female bust with veil and raised hand, 'MHP' ligature (Mary) and '??' (Theotokos?); the bezel a quatrefoil and square with pointillé border, intaglio facing bust of Christ Pantocrator with beard and shoulder-length hair, in loose robes holding a book in the left hand, right hand raised with thumb and third finger pressed together in sign of benediction, flanked by 'IC' and 'XC' with a tilde above each; John Cherry, former Keeper of Medieval and Later Antiquities at the British Museum, thinks that the Greek inscription, and grand nature of the ring may point to a Constantinopolitan workshop. Property of a European gentleman; acquired in the 1980s. Supplied with a positive X-Ray Fluorescence metal analysis certificate. See Hindman. S. et al. Toward an Art History of Medieval Rings: A Private Collection,London, 2007, item 27 for type. Supplied with a copy letter from Michael Dennis O'Hara discussing the iconography of the ring in the context of medieval Italy and Byzantium in the Paleologan period (1259-1453 AD"). Accompanied by an Art Loss Register certificate. Mary and John the Evangelist were both present at the crucifixion. Their presence on the shoulders of the ring forms a single image in which Christ is flanked by the two followers who witnessed his death. 20 grams, 28mm overall, 23.86mm internal diameter (approximate size British Z+4 1/2, USA 14 3/4, Europe 34.71, Japan 33) (1"). Extremely fine condition. A large wearable size.
Lot 1124
16th century AD. A gold ring with slender shank and narrow bezel set with a large amethyst-coloured glass cabochon. UK art market, acquired prior to 1980. 4 grams, 21.62mm overall, 21.24mm internal diameter (approximate size British X 1/4, USA 11 3/4, Europe 66 1/4, Japan 24"). (1"). Fine condition.
Lot 1125
14th-15th century AD. A gold ring with tapering shank with leaf pattern at the shoulder; flower shaped bezel set with cabochon garnet. Property of a gentleman; acquired in the late 1960s-early 1970s. 5 grams, 22.48mm overall, 20mm internal diameter (approximate size British U, USA 10 1/4, Europe 62 3/4, Japan 21) (3/4"). Extremely fine condition.
Lot 1126
13th-14th century AD. A gold ring with round shaped shank and small, cup-shaped bezel set with cabochon garnet. Property of a private collector; acquired before 1975. 4 grams, 21.27mm overall, 19.86mm internal diameter (approximate size British T 1/2, USA 10, Europe 61 1/2, Japan 20) (3/4"). Extremely fine condition.
Lot 1220
15th century AD. With a published Joan of Arc association dating back over a century, exhibited twice in France in the 1950s and in the Museum of Lancashire Millennium Exhibition, January to December 2000, this ring has a silver-gilt hoop with facetted outer face, expanding shoulders and two rectangular and angled fields to the bezel; the hoop with incised niello-filled florid lozenges and triangles, the design giving the appearance of three crosses, the ends of the shoulders with blackletter 'I' and 'M' (for 'Iesus Maria'), the lateral faces with blackletter 'IHS' and 'MAR' (as abbreviations for Jesus and Maria); a small section inserted later to the hoop, sufficient possibly to enlarge it from a band suitable for a small, feminine finger to a larger male(?) hand; the degree of wear generally evident to the ring, including to the hoop insert, suggesting an extended period of wear, long after the date of making, perhaps indicative of the ring's appeal as a talisman; contained in an antique, small oak casket in the form of an architectural reliquary with pitched and hipped lid, the ridge surmounted by a plain cross in iron, the box red velvet-lined, with a removable rectangular holder (the compartment beneath possibly having once held a small document or label), arranged to display the bezel and purpose-made to hold the ring, indicating the reverence in which the ring was already held when the box was made for it; the ring is very unusual in that the vast majority of rings with angled rectangular bezels have them engraved with pictures of saints rather than being inscribed (generally termed as iconographic rings); inscriptions on such rings are normally on the hoop part. Accompanied by a professional drawing showing the ring extended, with the three crosses forming part of the design to the shank clearly depicted; also with publications, documents, press cuttings and correspondence including a photocopy of the 1917 Oates privately printed catalogue; a cuttings book containing an extract from the Sotheby's sale of 1947 (including an image of the ring), with press cuttings from such publications as the Evening Standard, Daily Telegraph and Le Figaro at the time of that sale, followed by others (some illustrated, showing both ring and casket) including from English, American and French newspapers and periodicals in the 1950s, from when the ring was exhibited in France (at La Turbie and also at Rouen and Paris); associated correspondence with the mayor of La Turbie and further referring to the 500th rehabilitation anniversary exhibition; typescript research notes and a signed note by Cyril Bunt (dated 1949) discussing Cardinal Beaufort and the ring and its descent to Lady Morrell; papers relating to two interviews with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in 1953 and 1956; correspondence with the French embassy in London, shipping documents and permissions for the ring to be sent to France for exhibition; a photocopy of the last letter (with transcript) of Joan of Arc; the exhibition pamphlet for La Turbie (4 copies, 3 in English, 1 in French, 1952), the catalogue for the Jeanne d'Arc et Son Temps exhibition (Rouen and Paris, 1956); documents, including the mounted display caption, from the AD 2000 - The Story of Christianity in Lancashire exhibition at the Museum of Lancashire held in 2000; other correspondence of various dates from 1950s to 1980s regarding the ring, most of the letters with envelopes. Property of an Essex gentleman; inherited 1979 from Dr James Hasson of Harley Street, London; acquired Sotheby's sale, 1 April 1947, lot 37; formerly in a private collection (1929-1947); previously with the F. A. Harman Oates collection (sold Sotheby's, 20 February 1929, lot 21); earlier with Augustus John before 1914, the gift to him of Lady Ottoline Morrell; by descent, through the Cavendish-Bentinck family (Duke of Portland) from cardinal Henry Beaufort (1375-1447), who was present at the trial and execution of Joan of Arc in 1431; the ring stated by Joan at her trial to have been a gift from her parents. Supplied with a positive X-Ray Fluorescence metal analysis certificate. Asked if on the crowned heads there were not rings of gold or other substance, she answered: I do not know. Asked if she herself did not have some rings, she replied to us, bishop: You have one of mine; give it back to me. She said the Burgundians have another ring; and she asked us, if we had her ring, to show it to her. Asked who gave her the ring which the Burgundians had, she answered her father or her mother; and she thought the names Jhesus Maria were written thereon; she did not know who had them written; she did not think there was any stone in it; and she was given the ring at Domrémy. She said that her brother gave her the other ring which we had and she charged us to give it to the Church. She said she never cured any one with any of her rings and [130] ......Asked of what substance one of her rings was, on which the words Jhesus Maria were written, she answered that she did not properly know; and if it was of gold, it was not of fine gold; and she did not know whether it was of gold or brass; she thought there were three crosses, and to her knowledge no other signs save the words Jhesus Maria. Asked why she gladly looked at this ring when she was going to battle, she answered that it was out of pleasure, and in honour of her father and mother; and having her ring in her hand and on her finger she touched St. Catherine who appeared before her....; see Quicherat, Jules, Procés de Condamnation et de Réhabilitation de Jeanne d'Arc, Paris, 1841-1849 (first publication of the full trial texts); see Barrett, P. W., Trial of Joan of Arc, New York, 1932 (first English translation of the trial texts"). Oates, F. A. H., Catalogue of Finger Rings; Brought Together by F. A. Harman Oates, privately printed, London; Sotheby's, sales catalogues, 20 February 1929 (lot 21) and 1 April 1947 (lot 37); Hasson, Dr James, The Banquet of the Immortals, Poseidon Press, Edinburgh, 1948 (310 copies printed), pp.94-100 for a romanticised account of this ring and the death of Joan of Arc (extract from this work included); The Marvellous and Symbolic Story of the Ring of Jeanne d'Arc Exhibited at the Chapelle St-Jean of La Turbie, n.d (1952; English and French language versions accompanying this lot); Jeanne d'Arc et Son Temps, Paris, 1956, Commémoration du Vme Centaire de la Réhabilitation de Jeanne d'Arc, 1456-1956, Rouen and Paris, p.61, no.190 (original catalogue accompanying this lot"). Accompanied by an Art Loss Register certificate. Cyril George Edward Bunt (1882-1969) was an art historian and Librarian at the Victoria and Albert Museum, the writer of several books on such topics as the works of Sir Frank Brangwyn, David Cox and Leonard Campbell Taylor, together with a history of Windsor Castle; he researched the pedigree of the ring and its descent through the Beaufort and Cavendish families (typescript history, discussion and genealogical tree included); he corresponded with Augustus John regarding the ring and confirms how John received it. It is worth noting that the Condemnation trial documents were not published (in France) before 1849 and that the first English translation was published in 1932; prior to these publications, the only access to the original documents would have been in the archives in Paris and, as the association between this ring and Joan of Arc is published at least as early as 1917 (the Oates Catalogue), the connection appears to have been made before any details of Joan's description of her rings would have been generally known. The Cyril Bunt typescript documents have only very recently been found. Ring: 4.90 grams, 21mm overall, 18.27mm internal diameter (approximate size British Q, USA 8, Europe 17.49, Japan 17); casket: 127 grams total, 79 x 58 x 77mm (Ring: 3/4 casket: 3 1/4 x 2 1/4 x 3"). Good condition; surfaces worn.
Lot 1279
Early 19th century AD. A narrow gold hoop with running scrolled tendrils design to the outer face, flared shoulders with '12' to one, discoid plaque with ring of eight small cells with inset pearls surrounding a larger one with inset amethyst cabochon, granulation to the outer faces; stamped to the inner face with maker's mark 'GJ' and import marks '12' '.5', 'lion's head (for London) and blackletter 'n' in a heater shield, re-shanked 1908. Property of a Suffolk lady; formerly in the Deago collection, by descent from the vendor's mother. 1.82 grams, 23mm overall, 18.51mm internal diameter (approximate size British Q 1/2, USA 8 1/4, Europe 18.12, Japan 17) (1"). Fine condition.
Lot 16
4th-1st century BC. A matched pair of gold earrings, each a tapering tube with coiled filigree to the shank, cordon of vandykes with granule detailing, collar with applied filigree spirals, bull-head finial with fur texture, double band of pellets to the jawline, dished eyes, ring beneath the chin to secure the finial. Property of an Essex gentleman; inherited from Dr James Hasson of Harley Street, London; acquired before 1950. Cf. Marshall, F.H. Catalogue of the Jewellery - Greek, Etruscan and Roman - in the Department of Antiquities, British Museum, London, 1968, plate XXXI, items 1806-8 for type. Dr James Hasson (1892-1979) came to England from Alexandria in the 1920s, having qualified in Geneva; he was physician to Charles de Gaulle and the Free French Forces during WW2, a consultant to Christie's on Italian Renaissance art during the 1930s-1950s, a collector of fine art and author of several books, including The Banquet of the Immortals, London, 1948. 3.20 grams total, 23mm (1"). [2] Fine condition.
Lot 1784
Early 19th century AD. A rectangular silk fabric panel with tughra of Abdulmecid I (1823-1861 AD) embroidered in gold thread to each corner, interspersed with similar calligraphic panels for the salutation 'Allah is Great', stars, rosettes and tendrils; large central tughra surrounded by an embroidered ring with four circular panels of flowers and leaves with interstitial tughras; mounted in a glazed frame. Property of an American lady; acquired 1970s-1990s. Abdulmecid I was 31st sultan of the Empire and succeeded in 1839; he was allied with England and France during the Crimean War, against Russia. 6 kg, 94 x 86cm (37 x 33 3/4"). Fine condition.
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