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A GROUP OF SEVENTEEN ETHIOPIAN SILVER COPTIC PENDANT CROSSES
奥地利
09月10日 下午5点 开拍 / 09月08日 下午3点 截止委托
拍品描述

Description

A GROUP OF SEVENTEEN ETHIOPIAN SILVER COPTIC PENDANT CROSSES
This lot is a museum deaccession and is therefore offered without reserve

Ethiopia, 17th-18th century. The group comprising crosses of various styles and sizes, including nimbate, bud-ended, Greek and Pisan forms. Each boldly decorated with chased and incised linear geometric and openworked designs, fitted with a ring for suspension as a pendant. (17)

Provenance: Galerie Hardt (established in 1976), Radevormwald, Germany, before 2020. Acquired by the gallery’s founder Peter Hardt (b. 1946) during his extensive travels in Asia, the first of which occurred during a formative world tour in 1973. Throughout his storied career, Peter Kienzle-Hardt organized countless exhibitions and participated in major international art fairs. He made many important contacts during this time and eventually met the Kienzle siblings, who shared his passion for Asian art and culture. A strong bond and deep friendship developed, ultimately leading to the creation of the Museum für Asiatische Kunst decades later in 2014. While the museum’s permanent exhibition predominantly comprised pieces from the Kienzle Family Collection, Peter Kienzle-Hardt supplemented it with objects from his own collection. Before his death in 2019, Horst Kienzle bequeathed his entire property to Peter and legally adopted him as his son, who has been using the name Peter Kienzle-Hardt ever since.
Condition: Good condition with wear, manufacturing irregularities, and traces of use, minute dents to edges, expected tarnish, minuscule nicks, light surface scratches.

Weight: 127 g
Dimensions: Height 2.8 to 4.4 cm

Christianity most likely arrived in Ethiopia in the first century. The conversion of King Ezana in 330 AD led to its official acceptance and the minting of coins bearing one of the earliest known representations of the cross as a Christian symbol. Hand crosses, used by priests, were either hand-held or suspended from a cord around the neck, like those included in the present lot, and kissed by the faithful to receive a blessing. Similarly, processional crosses were carried on long poles in religious processions, while crossed prayer staffs were employed to mark rhythms during sacred dances and as support during long periods of standing required in church services. Collectively, these objects became enduring emblems of the spiritual authority of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

The symbol of the cross has permeated everyday life in Ethiopia over the past 1,600 years. It is seen worn around the neck as a pendant and is frequently used as a motif in tattoos. According to some sources, one type in particular, a rough-carved, soft wood, traditionally blue-painted pendant thought to ward off evil, dates to as far back as the 5th century AD. More conspicuous than wooden examples were pendants made of metal, such as those included in the present lot, which were more expensive and required a higher level of craftsmanship to produce.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related Ethiopian silver pendant cross with openworked design and incised decoration, dated to the 17th-18th century, in the Museum of Ethnography, Budapest, accession number NM 67.76.18.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s London, 22 November 2016, lot 21
Price: GBP 5,625 or approx. EUR 10,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A large collection of coptic crosses, mostly 17th-18th century
Expert remark: Compare the related form and openworked decoration. Note this group comprises more crosses than the present lot.

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价格信息

拍品估价:250 - 500 欧元 起拍价格:150 欧元  买家佣金: 35.00%

拍卖公司

Galerie Zacke
地址: Sterngasse 13, 1010 Vienna, Austria
电话: 0043-1-5320452
邮编: 1070
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