More Antiquities Bend Time and Space: Parallel Presence Artefacts

 

Parallel-Presence Artefacts (Catawiki vs. Violity)

Over dinner today, my companion, a physicist involved in research into anti-matter in CERN told me, I think he was jesting, I could get a Nobel Prize for a certain little discovery I have made. Collectors and dealers will tell you that "holding a piece of the past in your hand" will "bridge the gap between past and present". I think they do much more than that, I think we can show that they really do exist in parallel universes. Look at the St Louis Ka Nefer Nefer mummy mask which this blog showed was in two places at once, according to documentation supplied by the dealer, the mask was on show in a gallery in Belgium, while other documentation seems to show it was in a museum storeroom in Egypt. Then we have the Leutwitz Apollo, which as I have shown is documented as being in the garden of a farmhouse in Saxony at the same time as a scholar saw it in a restorer's workshop. Also we must remember relatively large numbers of auction sales from some major sellers where an item has one collection history and then it turns out that there is the exact same artefact in one of the Medici (etc) polaroids and this can only mean that these artefacts too were in two different places at once. I think there is even more evidence of this elsewhere in the market. 

The collectables auction site 'Catawiki' has experts to look over the correctness of the descriptions of the items they sell, in the case of archaeological artefacts the vetting is in the hands of people that include Peter Reynaers ("About 30 years of experience, Moderator of several online art research groups, Avid collector, Broad interest and knowledge of art"). As the website says:

"What our experts do: Virtually review submitted objects (Every day sellers submit thousands of objects. Our 240+ in-house experts review and select only the best to auction).
Assist sellers with object presentation (Experts make sure the objects they select provide all the necessary details), Match objects to the perfect auction (Experts make sure special objects are easy to find by placing them in the right auctions)."

Also, all three of the auctions discussed below carries the text:

"The Seller can prove that the lot was obtained legally, provenance statement seen by Catawiki. Important information. The seller guarantees that he is entitled to ship this lot. The seller will take care that any necessary permits will be arranged."

Let us have a look at three more "dual-presence" artefacts, all of them from Catawiki and all sold by the same shadowy seller based in Austria. I did not spot them myself and may have to split the Nobel Prize money with the person who did, an anonymous collector with an interest and real knowledge of ancient brooches/fibulae with the screen name "Renate" who I have mentioned a couple of times on this blog. Regrettably, that's all I know. They posted a longish post on the ancient.artifacts.groups.io forum that contains the information about what they found (Apr 30   #96586). Anyway, the perspicaceous "Renate" found some brooches all sold by one guy ( "aesnumismatics" based in Austria,  Catawiki member since May 27, 2016) that had an unusual characteristic:

1) Catawiki no. 53222963, called a "Early medieval Bronze Extremely Rare Merovingian Zoomorphic Fibula with Raven Heads and Solar Symbols",

Without a pin and one of the ravens slightly bent, otherwise very well preserved with a lovely brownish natural patina and every detail perfectly visible. Extremely Rare Type. Size: 6,2 cm. Purchased by the current owner in 2016 in Austria, Wien (sic). Collected Since: 1980's. Previous owners history: Old Austrian Private Collection.

This had an expert's estimate € 220 - € 350, but as the reserve price was not met, it was not sold.
What is extremely exciting is that although it was purchased over (? note: "since") forty years ago, "Renate" found the very same, identical, object had been sold (33 bids 23.11.2020, 801 грн = 27.23 $) by its finder on the Ukrainian auction site Violity in November 2020 as "Fibula P[enkovska] K[ultura], the seller was located in Poltava Oblast, Ukraine. The Ukrainian metal detectorist is right and Catawiki's expert is totally wrong, this is clearly a Penkovska Culture fibula, with zero connection with the Merovingians. Nothing like anything they created, so much for his "ancient art" training.

2) Catawiki no. 56589917 described (laughably) as: "Ancient Roman Silver Nicely Ornamented Rarer Type Brooch Fibula with a back part (sic) resembling a Legionary Helmet with a nicely engraved ornamentation"

Almost intact with only some small part is missing on the left side, very stable metal and nice old cabinet tone- with its original pin, which is very rare . See Photo Rare type especially in silver. Size: 5,2cm. Purchased by the current owner in 2016 in Austria, Wien (sic). Collected Since: 1990's. Previous owners history: Old Austrian Private Collection.

Here the expert's estimate was € 440 - € 600, but as the reserve price was not met, it was not sold.
But this is fantastic news because it is evidence of the existence of parallel universes, because although this one entered an existing old collection thirty (? note "since") years ago, the absolutely same brooch was also dug up in a field in Ukraine many years later!! We know this because exactly the same identical silver brooch with with two coils appears on sale on Ukrainian online marketplace [Серебряная фибула] in the hands of a seller from Kiev also in November 2020 (Lot sold, 42 bids, 06.12.2020 902 грн = 30.66 $ ). Both fibulae have been tampered with in an identical way, the footplate has been cut down and reshaped. And no Mr Reynaers, that is not "the shape of a legionary's helmet", its not the "back end" and these brooches are not all that rare in silver. Back to ancient art history school for you.

3) Catawiki no. 52857081, "Ancient Roman Silver Exceptionally Well Preserved Cicade Brooch Fibula (shaped as a Fly). Much Rarer in Silver"

Nicely shaped which distinguish the body with it anatomy- the wings and the head of the fly. Almost intact with its own pin which is extremely rare and a nice old cabinet tone. Much rarer in silver. Size: 3 cm. Purchased by the current owner in 2016 in Austria, Wien (sic). Collected Since: 1980's. Previous owners history: Old Austrian Private Collection.

The expert's estimate was € 330 - € 460, but as the reserve price was not met, it was not sold. So the Austrian dealer Aesnumismatics has on his or her hands a precious collection of three dual-presence artefacts, documented as being in two different places at the same time, for this cicada brooch is also to be found on the Ukrainian online looted archaeological artefacts sales portal Фібула цикада, ЧК (Chernikhovo Culture). Now this one CANNOT be the one in Vienna, because the seller clearly indicates: "Пересилка тільки по Україні" (will not ship outside Ukraine - export controls). There is one characteristic however that argues for them being the same object simply in two different universes, this brooch has been clumsily pimped, with the catchplate fixed the wrong way round. This occurs in both of them.

These three items, taken with the other two mentioned above really do indicate that we need to be trawling artefact sales for more examples of artefacts that can actually be shown to have been documented as being in two parallel universes. I am sure there must be some academic grant money available for studying that.