Exceptional Horological Sale Celebrat...
Hotel Noga Hilton, Geneva, Apr 24, 2004
LOT 114
Blois or Paris, circa 1640-50. Exceptionally fine and very rare 20K gold and painted on enamel reliquary locket, in morocco fitted box.
CHF 8,000 - 12,000
EUR 5,000 - 7,600 / USD 6,000 - 9,400
Sold: CHF 8,050
C. Two-body, hinged, the front lid painted with Marie Magdalene, a skull in the foreground and Christ on the cross in the background, the back with Saint John with a scroll in his hands, inside the lid a landscape with a river and a traveler crossing a bridge, band with white and red champlevé enamel. Inside the box relics of The Cross and bones of saints as specified by labels, the top with gold suspension loop. Dim. 38 x 30 mm.
| Grading System | |
|---|---|
Grade: AAA |
Excellent |
Case: 3 |
Good |
Notes
The word ?relic? comes from the Latin ?reliquiae? which was used to describe the remains of a departed saint. It is an old custom to worship the remains of a venerated figure. Plutarch gives an account of the translation of the bodies of Demetrius and Phocion. The bones or ashes of Aesculapius at Epi-daurus, and of Perdiccas I at Macedon were treated with the deepest veneration. In the Far East, the relics of Buddha began to circulate immediately after his death. Although the practice of collecting and venerating relics had its apogee during the Middle Ages, as the present reliquary locket demonstrates, it persisted for some time afterward.