Featured Odd little enamelled brass plaque. Thoughts please?

Discussion in 'Antique Discussion' started by Ownedbybear, Jan 5, 2019.

  1. Ownedbybear

    Ownedbybear Well-Known Member

    Here's an odd thing. St George and the Dragon, of course, with writing in a language I can't decipher. Given he's patron saint to half the planet, it might be Georgian or something. Not Catalan or English, I'd recognise those. ;)

    Opinions on origin or purpose? It's very well done. V35E.jpg V35D.jpg V35A.jpg V35C.jpg V35B.jpg
     
  2. Fid

    Fid Well-Known Member

    did you check the different glagolitic scripts ? watch out though, they look completely different to each other and if my rest-brain serves there were special church variations.
     
  3. Ownedbybear

    Ownedbybear Well-Known Member

    That's a thought. Might be a copy of something Byzantine or Coptic.
     
    kyratango likes this.
  4. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    It is a Russian travel icon, and Cyrillic script. Those blue enamels are typical of those Russian travel icons, although they also used green and yellow.
     
  5. Fid

    Fid Well-Known Member

    I think it was mostly in use in the old Bulgarian Empire.
     
  6. Hollyblue

    Hollyblue Well-Known Member

    Looks like a crude sand casting,many signs of porosity and poorly finished on the front.
     
  7. evelyb30

    evelyb30 Well-Known Member

    Not a great casting, agreed. I wonder if it wasn't originally on a key ring; those are often cruder than items meant to be jewelry.
     
    kyratango likes this.
  8. Ownedbybear

    Ownedbybear Well-Known Member

    Bit big for a keyring. I should have said: it's about three inches by two. There's a lot of wear down on the front.
     
    kyratango likes this.
  9. i need help

    i need help Moderator Moderator

    Seeing similar as Russian, as AJ said, but none have translation of what’s written. Maybe @Figtree3, @April07 knows.
     
    Last edited: Jan 5, 2019
    kyratango, Figtree3 and Any Jewelry like this.
  10. Figtree3

    Figtree3 What would you do if you weren't afraid?

    If it's Russian, the letters are so poorly struck that I can't tell what some of them are. It's also possibly Church Slavonic or Old Church Slavonic. The letters are not clear enough for me to tell. Maybe a native Russian speaker would know.
     
  11. April07

    April07 Well-Known Member

    I think it says St. Egory (another name for George) in Church Slavic.
    It's 18th-19th-century Russian travel icon
     
    kyratango, judy, Any Jewelry and 2 others like this.
  12. April07

    April07 Well-Known Member

    [​IMG]
    Here is a similar one with less damage and where the text reads more easily
     
    Jivvy, all_fakes, cxgirl and 6 others like this.
  13. i need help

    i need help Moderator Moderator

    Thanks, April! :)
     
    kyratango and Figtree3 like this.
  14. Figtree3

    Figtree3 What would you do if you weren't afraid?

    Oh, I can see it now. English is my native language, and I studied Russian in college long ago. But I also have worked as a librarian at a university for many years and so have sometimes been called upon to use some Russian knowledge.

    And it was great that you found that other example!
     
  15. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    Great find, April.

    I am quite confident obb's is an antique one, it is very much like the ones in my mother's collection.
    The one April found looks very much like the repro's that flooded Western Europe during the icon collecting craze of the 1960s and 70s. They have the same images and script as the antique ones, and are a very good way to identify the origin if you are new to Russian travel icons.
     
    Last edited: Jan 6, 2019
    i need help, kyratango and judy like this.
  16. Ownedbybear

    Ownedbybear Well-Known Member

    Splendid! Many thanks all, especially aj and April. This was in the box of bits which included a nice amber pendant, the Georgian gaming piece, a decent vesta, treacle glazed hound and some odd silver cufflinks. Eight dollars. ;)
     
    Jivvy, i need help, Bakersgma and 3 others like this.
  17. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    Wow!:jawdrop:
    A perfect investment!
     
    kyratango likes this.
  18. Ownedbybear

    Ownedbybear Well-Known Member

    I was a bit pleased. I bought it for the amber pendant. ;)
     
    kyratango and Any Jewelry like this.
  19. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    An amber pendant is always good, but this beauty could be the real prize.:)
     
    kyratango likes this.
  20. Ownedbybear

    Ownedbybear Well-Known Member

    It may need to live with me for a while, I rather like it!
     
    Phaik Hooi and cxgirl like this.
Draft saved Draft deleted
Similar Threads: little enamelled
Forum Title Date
Antique Discussion Icon relative to the post : Odd little enamelled brass plaque. Jan 8, 2019
Antique Discussion A LITTLE DIFFERENT, BUT SINCE ANTIQUE, I THINK IT FITS RIGHT HERE! Jan 3, 2024
Antique Discussion Chinese stone carved little box. Type of stone and age help Dec 2, 2023
Antique Discussion Little female figurine- Stone? Nov 24, 2023
Antique Discussion Horn? snuff vs perfume vs ?? bottle - need a little help please. Oct 24, 2023

Share This Page