Advantageous Auctions London: JOAN OF ARC COMMEMORATIVE ALMS DISH DATED 1429 TO SELL AT BONHAMS

A brass alms dish decorated with the arms of the French national heroine and Catholic saint, Joan of Arc (1412-1431), is to be sold at Bonhams at its monthly Period Design sale on 6 July 2010. Believed to date from the early 15^th century and inscribed 1429, the dish has attracted a pre-sale estimate of £3,000 – 5,000.

 

The dish commemorates Joan of Arc’s victory at Orleans in the Hundred Years’ War in 1429, which resulted in the coronation of Charles VII. It is inscribed with 18^th century French text: ‘In 1429, after the relief of Orleans, King Charles VII, who was staying at Chinon, bestowed on Joan of Arc the coat of arms, which the model shows opposite, to decorate her standard and herself.’

 

Joan of Arc has remained an important figure in Western culture and the story of her life has inspired works by composers and writers including Verdi, Tchaikovsky, Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw. The great American writer Mark Twain described Joan as ‘perhaps the only entirely unselfish person whose name has a place in profane history,’ while Sir Winston Churchill wrote that ‘Joan was a being so uplifted from the ordinary run of mankind that she finds no equal in a thousand years.’

Other highlights in the sale include a Roman 16^th century bronze figure of a classical fate (estimate £2,000 – 3,000) and a 15^thcentury bronze in the manner of Donatello (estimate £2,000 – 3,000).

 

 

www.bonhams.com/perioddesign

Bonhams

Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. The present company was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son and Neale UK. In August 2002, the company acquired Butterfields, the principal firm of auctioneers on the West Coast of America. Today, Bonhams offers more sales than any of its rivals, through two major salerooms in London: New Bond Street, and Knightsbridge, and a further five throughout the UK. Sales are also held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Carmel, New York and Boston in the USA; Toronto, Canada; and France, Monaco, Australia, Hong Kong and Dubai. Bonhams has a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 25 countries offering sales advice and valuation services in 57 specialist areas. By the end of 2009, Bonhams had become UK market leaders in ten key specialist collecting areas.For a full listing of upcoming sales, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, go to www.bonhams.com