139 - A VISIGOTHIC GARNET-INLAID GILT BRONZE BELT PLAQUE, 2ND-3RD QUARTER OF THE 6TH CENTURY

A VISIGOTHIC GARNET-INLAID GILT BRONZE BELT PLAQUE, 2ND-3RD QUARTER OF THE 6TH CENTURY Spain. Skillfully cast, of square form with a recessed central panel set with an oval garnet encircled by four additional drop-shaped garnets against a stippled ground, the composition framed by a finely chased geometric band. Provenance: Bruno Cooper Works of Art, Norwich, United Kingdom, 2004. Collection of Paolo Bertuzzi, acquired from the above. A copy of the signed invoice from Bruno Cooper, dated 2 November 2004, addressed to Paolo Bertuzzi, confirming the attribution and dating above, and stating a purchase price for the present lot of GBP 2,000 or approx. EUR 4,300 (converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing), accompanies this lot. Morley ‘Bruno’ Cooper (d. 2012) arrived in England from the United States in 1958 on a scholarship to Cambridge. After a successful academic career, mostly at the University of East Anglia, he transformed what had been an absorbing hobby, dabbling in antiques, into a full career. Trading in the Suffolk town of Long Melford, he quickly established a reputation for the fine European furniture he stocked. Always restless, he eventually became bored of the furniture market. He closed the shop and from then on exhibited exclusively at international antique fairs where his reputation spread wider. His stock, characterized by his personal eclecticism, was a cabinet of curiosities. Towards the end of his life, his focus shifted more towards Asian art and particularly the sculpture of India and Southeast Asia. Paolo Bertuzzi (1943-2022) was a fashion stylist from Bologna. He was the son of Enrichetta Bertuzzi, founder of Hettabretz, a noted Italian fashion company with customers such as the Rothschild family, Audrey Hepburn, and Elizabeth Taylor. Paolo Bertuzzi later took over his mother’s business and designed exclusive pieces, some of which were exhibited in the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, USA. He was also an avid collector of antiques for more than sixty years. His collection includes both archaic and contemporary art, and he edited two important books about Asian art, Goa Made - An Archaeological Discovery, about a large-scale archaeological project carried out with the Italian and Indonesian governments, and Majapahit, Masterpieces from a Forgotten Kingdom. Condition: Good condition with expected wear, casting irregularities, small losses to the reverse, a minor fissure to one of the inlaid garnets, minor losses to gilding, light warping. Weight: 49.5 g Dimensions: Length 5.8 cm The Visigoths were a Germanic people who established themselves in the Iberian Peninsula that gradually consolidated their rule over much of the region during the fifth and sixth centuries AD. Visigothic power endured in the Iberian Peninsula until 711, when the kingdom was defeated by invading Arab and Berber forces. Numerous objects of personal adornment associated with Visigothic communities have been recovered from cemeteries across present-day southern France, Spain and Portugal, providing important evidence for the material culture and social practices of the period. Belt buckles such as the present lot served as highly visible expressions of rank and status, accompanying their wearers into the grave. Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Christie’s New York, 4 February 2025, lot 59 Price: USD 25,200 or approx. EUR 23,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Description: A Visigothic garnet and glass-inlaid gilt bronze belt buckle, circa 6th century AD Expert remark: Compare the closely related form and decoration with garnet inlay. Note the size (7.9 cm), extensive losses to gilding, and buckle. Due to length restriction on Drouot this entry is shortened. For full description please visit www.zacke.at.