TimeLine Auctions to sell European antiquities Dec. 16
Italian painted fresco fragment, transposed to a textile support, 15th century A.D., depicting the death of St. Francis. Estimate: $70,000-$95,000. Image courtesy of TimeLine Auctions.
Undisputed top spot surely goes to a 15th-century Italian painted fresco fragment (lot 630) depicting St. Francis on his deathbed surrounded by four figures in conversation. The mounted and framed work measures 46 x 35 inches and its estimated hammer price is $95,000. Equally eye-catching is lot 417, a Roman bronze statuette of winged fertility god Eros, with silver inlaid eyes and a rounded, full-featured face. In very fine condition, this lovely piece is expected to reach $38,000.
With more than 60 gold finger rings from Greek to Post-Medieval cataloged in the sale, selecting a choice example proves difficult – until reaching lot 326: a double bezel gold, garnet and sapphire specimen from the Greek Hellenistic period, second or first century B.C. Set with a round cabochon sapphire, this large and impressive ring has a high bid estimate of $45,000. Another ring (lot 594) spans the Roman to late-Medieval ages with its 16th-century gold hoop and bezel set with a Roman sapphire intaglio displaying a bust of Constantius I (A.D. 250-306). A hammer price of $24,000 is anticipated.
The Anglo Saxon and Viking Ages are represented by silver bracelets, torcs, other jewelery, an array of weaponry; and by a magnificent natural gold crystal in quartz from a ninth century Viking grave. The anticipated estimate for this piece (lot 566) is $8,000. The Medieval Age offers jewelery and religious relics in gold, silver and bronze. Two eye-catching carved French limestone Madonna figurines from the 14th-15th centuries should draw bids up to $34,500.
Coin collectors will surely admire lot 143, a rare English Civil War siege piece dating from the defence, in 1644, of Scarborough Castle by Royalist forces opposing attacking Parliamentarians. The garrison’s offices cut up the castle’s silver plate to make crude coins to pay the soldiers. This is an example of the emergency money – a 5-shilling piece stamped with an image of Scarborough Castle. Presale interest suggests it might surpass its estimated $15,000 price. At the other end of the scale bidders can take a punt on lot 670: a Southeast Asian unopened and intact hoard pot dating from the 12th century. Its weight suggests it might contain more than 2,000 coins – but that will be for the winning bidder to find out. Bids of around $650 are expected.
Brett Hammond, TimeLine Auctions CEO, said, “Growth was our aim when we commenced our auctions at the Swedenborg Hall in March this year. We have gone from strength-to-strength. In fact we are now attracting so many consigned lots that the next auction, early in 2011, will spread over two days.”
View the fully illustrated catalog and register to bid absentee or live via the Internet as the sale is taking place by logging on to www.LiveAucvtioneers.com.
For details contact Christopher Wren at +44 (0) 1708 222824.
ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE
Circa first century large bronze figure of a young winged Eros supporting a long-stemmed cornucopia. Estimate: $28,000-$38,000. Image courtesy of TimeLine Auctions.
Medieval limestone Madonna with orb statuette, mid-14th to early 15th century, 14 3/4 inches. Estimate: $17,000-$23,000. Image courtesy of TimeLine Auctions.
Greek Hellenistic double bezel gold, garnet and Sapphire ring, second or first century B.C. Estimate: $34,000-$45,000. Image courtesy of TimeLine Auctions.
Stuart Scarborough siege piece, July 1644-July 1645, a uniface crown formed from a piece of flattened out domestic silver bearing a single, stamped impression of a depiction of the castle and the letters V below S (for 5 shillings). Estimate: $11,000-$15,000. Image courtesy of TimeLine Auctions.
