6th-7th century AD. A mixed group of silver-gilt liturgical items comprising: a hanging lamp with flared foot, carinated segmented body, flared neck with band of repoussé quatrefoils and florets, rolled rim, three suspension chains with loops and hook; a hollow piriform finial, possibly from a throne or a standard finial, with ropework collar and vertical tendril bands with pellets alternating with plain segments; a two-part vestment clasp set, each half formed as a parcel-gilt scallop shell with flared rim and pierced trapezoidal plaque, hook-and-eye hinge. Cf. Spier, J., Treasures of the Ferrell Collection, Wiesbaden, 2010, p.278, item 198, for the companion piece to the hanging lamp; ibid item 213 (finial) and 214 (clasps); accompanied by copies of the relevant book pages; a similar finial, with a suggested origin from Constantinople, was in the collection of the Haddad Brothers, and exhibited at the Frieze Masters Collection in 2017; see also for comparison the artistic elements RGZM, Byzanz, Pracht und Alltag, Mainz, 2010.201 grams total, 90-110mm (3 1/2 - 4 1/4"). Property of a Surrey gentleman; formerly from the private collection of a Canadian gentleman; from his father's collection formed 1965-1990; accompanied by an archaeological report by Dr. Raffaele D’Amato, Art Loss Register certificate numbers S001261511, S001261512 & S001261513, dated 5 September 2017 and a copy of a photograph taken prior to professional cleaning; this lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by AIAD certificate number no. 10373-167792. Hanging lamps, of different dimensions, were used to create the spiritual atmosphere surrounding the Divine Liturgy. Light was important not only from a practical point of view but also symbolically. The parcel gilt flask, if not the finial of a throne, episcopal chair or church labarum (standard), could be a miniature version of a large ceramic oil or wine container with a pointed base for setting them in sand at the cargo hold of a ship, and was probably used as a small flask for myrrh, the liturgical oil. The ornamented wreath border between shoulder and neck of the finial is a typical Byzantine decoration in the workshops active in the Imperial capital of Constantinople, as attested on a vase in the same ornament and style preserved in the Louvre collections (RGZM, 2010, p.173"). [A video of this lot is available to view on TimeLine Auctions website.]