Lot 0262
An unique Byzantine period orthodox silver-gilt, niello and cabochones reliquary with Crucifixion
Estimate: 20000-25000€
An unique Byzantine period orthodox silver-gilt, niello and cabochones reliquary with Crucifixion.
Balkans, probably Stenimachos or Philippopolis region, Athonite workshop, 1645.
Silver, gilding, niello, semi-precious cabochons; repoussé, chasing, engraving, punching, niello inlay, stone setting.
Dimensions with suspension ring: 11.5 × 8.5 × 4 cm.
Weight: 272.8 g.
Inscriptions: Greek dedicatory inscription on the reverse, naming the Monastery of the Mother of God Petritsiotissa of Bachkovo, the True and Life-Giving Cross, the donor Hieromonk Matthaios, prohegoumenos, and the date 1645.
A rare post-Byzantine staurotheke-enkolpion, conceived both as a reliquary for a particle of the True Cross and as a pectoral devotional object. The rectangular silver-gilt case is fitted with suspension rings and a chain.
The front cover is decorated with the Crucifixion. Christ is shown on the Cross beneath the titulus with the abbreviated inscription “ΙΝΒΙ”, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. He is flanked by the Virgin Mary and Saint John, both rendered in engraved and chased linear modelling. The gilded ground is densely punched and enriched with multicoloured cabochons, including green, purple, blue and red stones, probably peridot, amethyst, turquoise or aquamarine, and garnet.
The reverse is ornamented with nielloed foliate scrolls and a central rectangular panel. Around it runs the Greek donor’s inscription, which may be translated as: “Reliquary of the True and Life-Giving Cross of the Monastery of the Mother of God Petritsiotissa of Bachkovo, made at the expense of Prohegoumenos Hieromonk Matthaios, 1645.” In the centre is a stylised flowering branch, a motif connected with the Tree of Life and widely used in post-Byzantine and Balkan ornamental art of the seventeenth century.
The side panels are decorated with alternating bands of floral scrollwork, niello ornament and geometric borders.
The object belongs to the artistic milieu of the Bachkovo Monastery, one of the most important Orthodox centres in the Balkans, founded in the eleventh century and closely connected with Georgian, Byzantine and later post-Byzantine traditions. Reliquary was probably made in a regional goldsmith’s workshop, possibly in Stenimachos or Philippopolis, or in an Athonite workshop. The surviving chain indicates that it was worn on the breast as an enkolpion, serving both a devotional and protective function.
Starting price: 15000€
Estimate: 20000-25000€
Hammer Price: €
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