Armorial dagger pommel - Lot 10

Lot 10
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1500 - 2300 EUR
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Result : 6 594EUR
Armorial dagger pommel - Lot 10
Armorial dagger pommel France, late 12th-early 13th century D. 3 cm - l. 1.5 cm Heraldic dagger pommel France, late 12th - early 13th century D. 1 3/16 in - l. 9/16 in 1185 CH Armorial dagger pommel in bronze (originally gilded) with champlevé enamel decoration, circular with poly-lobed edge, pierced through for the weapon's tang. One side features a three-towered castle on a vermiculated background surrounded by a circle of red enamel. On the other, a lion passant in blue with white head, paws, mouth, eyes, crown and tip of tail enameled in red, and surrounded by the same enamel circle. On either side, the lobes of the border are adorned with small crosses or fleurons on a blue enamel background. The three-towered castle seems to have been a very popular motif among Crusaders in the Holy Land, and adorns a number of the group's knobs. The crowned lion passant could indicate its owner's allegiance to the King of England, and is also found, associated with various symbols on the reverse, on many of the pommels in the set. An identical lion-castle association can also be seen on a similar pommel in the Musée de Cluny (CL.21583). Archaeological condition, glaze incomplete and discolored in places These pieces belong to a large group of enameled pommels associated with 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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