An English bequest of Land - photo 1
An English bequest of Land - photo 2

An English bequest of Land

Lot 57
12.12.2022 00:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
£ 7 560
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 869456
Lot 57 | An English bequest of Land
Estimate value
£ 2 500 – 3 500
An English bequest of Land
Bequest of Land at Eakring to the Cistercian Abbey of St Mary’s, Rufford, Nottinghamshire, in Latin, document on vellum [England, Southwell, late 12th or early 13th century].
A borrowed Romanesque seal on an early Gothic document.

c. 95 × 175mm, with the lower 15mm folded up. 10 lines of elegant documentary script, with a pendent red wax seal depicting the Virgin Mary enthroned, with the Child on her lap, and with the legend ‘Sigillv[m Sancte Marie] de Svella’ (the document with folds, the seal chipped around the edges, but substantially intact)

Provenance:
Colker MS 113, acquired in 1966 from Maggs.

Content:
‘Sciant tam presentes quam futuri quod ego Rogerus filius Alexandri de Eicringhe divisi deo et sancte Marie et monachis de Rufford pro salute anime mee et uxoris mee et liberorum meorum quatuor acras terre in territorio de Eicringhe […] quas Radulfus de Herford dominus meus dedit michi pro servitio meo & quas Hermer tenuit […]’.

Interestingly, Roger explains that because he does not have his own seal, he is appending that of the chapter of St Mary’s, Southwell: ‘[…] et quia sigillum proprium non habui, sigillum capituli sancte Marie de Suwellia huic carte mee appendi feci in testimonium’, followed by a list of eight named witnesses, starting with ‘Thoma clerico de Eicringhe’. Eakring is about 3 miles or 4.5 km southeast of Rufford Abbey, and Southwell Minster is about 6.5 miles or 10km miles southeast of Eakring.

The seal is recorded in two very damaged examples in the British Library (Walter de Gray Birch, Catalogue of Seals in the Department of Manuscripts in the British Museum, I (London, 1887), nos. 4058, 4059), and another is recorded by C.J. Holdsworth, Rufford charters (4 vols., 1972–81), on a charter dated 1146–66, consistent with the Romanesque style of the image in the centre of the seal. This is therefore a case of a fine mid-12th-century seal matrix being used for another half century or more.

We are grateful to T.A. Heslop for his help with this item.
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
28.11.2022 – 12.12.2022
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Buyer Premium see on Website
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.