Armorial dagger pommel - Lot 9

Lot n° 9
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Estimation :
1500 - 2500 EUR
Result with fees
Result : 6 330EUR
Armorial dagger pommel - Lot 9
Armorial dagger pommel France, late 12th - early 13th century D. 3.5 cm - l. 1.5 cm Heraldic dagger pommel France, late 12th - early 13th century D. 1 3/8 in - l. 9/16 in 836 CH Armorial dagger pommel in bronze (originally gilded) with champlevé enamel decoration, circular with poly-lobed border, pierced through for the weapon's tang. One side features a red fleur-de-lis on a vermiculated background surrounded by a circle of enamel, now white. On the other, a shield featuring a lion rampant on a gules background, surrounded by the same enamel circle. On either side, the lobes of the border are adorned with small crosses or fleurons on an enameled background. While the shield certainly represents the coat of arms of the dagger's owner, too common to be identifiable, the fleur-de-lis on the reverse perhaps signifies that he was a subject of the King of France, unlike the crowned lions passant appearing on other pommels of this type, possible references to English arms. Archeological condition, enamel incomplete and discolored in places. These pieces are to be compared with a large group of enamelled pommels linked to the Crusades, dating from the late 12th to the mid-13th century, many of which are now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and others in the Musée de Cluny. Most of these pommels were found in the Near East, and a few in territories from which many Crusaders left and returned during this period. Probably made in France and taken to the Holy Land, many bear the personal heraldry of their owner, combined with various decorative, symbolic or territorial allegiance motifs. Bibliography : - La Rocca, Donald J. "Sword and Dagger Pommels Associated with the Crusades: Part I. "Metropolitan Museum Journal(2011), p. 136-37 - Dandridge, Pete, and Mark T. Wypyski "Sword and Dagger Pommels Associated with the Crusades: Part II. A Technical Study "Metropolitan Museum Journal(2011), p. 145-52.
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