PREVIEW: JEWELLERY, SILVER & OBJECTS OF VERTU: 28 NOVEMBER

Two rare gold lots in Noonans’ forthcoming Jewellery auction on 28 November
commemorate the great Armenian 12th century poet and theologian Nerses Shnorhali (1102-1173) on the 850th anniversary of his death.

Nerses was ordained as a priest at the age of 17, becoming a bishop at 35, and then Catholicos of the Armenian church between 1166-73. He tried to reconcile the Armenian and Greek Orthodox churches and was recognised as a saint for his championship of church unity.

UNESCO, the Roman Catholic and Armenian Churches have been marking the anniversary of his death with a series of conferences and celebrations throughout the year, with the Vatican issuing postage stamps depicting his image, and holding concerts of his hymns in December.

The two lots at Noonans have come from the Shlomo Gabbay Collection acquired during the early 1960s in Israel. The first is a repoussé gold image believed to be that of a Bishop, the second a thin gold plaque punched with 45 words in Ge’ez (classical Ethiopian text based on Armenian). This translates as a prayer for the ninth hour of the day, taken from the collection of 24 Hour prayers, which have been translated into 32 languages. The text is composed of three parts, each part a replication of the other. Together they are estimated to sell for up to £800.