137 - A LOMBARDIC GOLD ‘PEACOCKS’ BELT BUCKLE, LATE 6TH–FIRST HALF OF THE 7TH CENTURY

A LOMBARDIC GOLD ‘PEACOCKS’ BELT BUCKLE, LATE 6TH–FIRST HALF OF THE 7TH CENTURY Italo-Byzantine. Finely crafted, the rectangular gold plate worked in openwork and detailed in repoussé and incision, depicting a pair of confronted stylized peacocks arranged symmetrically around a central motif, their bodies, plumage, and surrounding ornament rendered with finely chased linear and dotted details. The composition is enclosed within a raised rectangular border and further enriched with geometric and foliate elements, creating a densely ornamented surface characteristic of the highly decorative metalwork of the period. The plate is hinged to a long tapering gold tongue with a rounded terminal, passing across a massive circular bronze loop. The reverse retains substantial iron encrustations and burial accretions. Provenance: Bruno Cooper Works of Art, Norwich, United Kingdom, by 2002. Collection of Paolo Bertuzzi, acquired from the above and thence by descent. A copy of the signed invoice from Bruno Cooper, dated 27 October 2002, addressed to Paolo Bertuzzi, confirming the dating and attribution above, and stating a purchase price for the present lot of GBP 6,500 or approx. EUR 14,500 (converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing), accompanies this lot. Morley ‘Bruno’ Cooper (d. 2012) arrived in England from the USA 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 the furniture market; he closed the shop, and, from then on, exhibited exclusively at international antique fairs where his reputation spread wider. His stock was characterised by his personal eclecticism; like a cabinet of curiosities. Towards the end of his life, his interests had focused increasingly on to Asia and Indian sculpture in particular. 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 old wear, manufacturing irregularities, signs of prolonged burial, areas of deep corrosion to the bronze, encrustations, minor dents, surface scratches. Weight: 34.7 g Dimensions: Length 8.4 cm The designation ‘Italo-Byzantine’ describes Italian work reflecting Byzantine artistic traditions, often commissioned or worn by Lombard patrons. Following their arrival in the Italian peninsula in AD 568, the Lombards established a kingdom alongside territories that remained under the rule of Byzantium. Interactions between these regions encouraged the circulation of luxury objects and the exchange of artistic traditions. The Lombardic (or Langobardic) aristocracy expressed its wealth and rank through sumptuous dress and equipment, with gold belt fittings and other precious ornaments lending particular splendor to the attire of elite horsemen. Literature comparison: Compare a related Lombardic gold belt buckle and strap end, dated c. 600, 5.9 cm long, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 95.15.99. Compare a related Lombardic or Byzantine gold buckle, dated 6 th-7 th century, 5.9 cm long, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 17.190.1662. Compare a related Lombardic or early Byzantine gold belt fitting, dated late 6 th-7 th century, 4.2 cm high, in the British Museum, registration number 1866,0815.4. Auction result comparison: Type: Related Auction: Christie’s London, 7 November 2001, lot 260 Price: GBP 3,290 or approx. EUR 7,400 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Description: A fine Byzantine gold belt buckle, early 7th century AD Expert remark: Compare the related openwork gold decoration incorporating stylized bird heads. Note the different plate shape and the size (6.3 cm).