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Robert Woods Bliss, undated [8] (between April 14 and 19, 1935)

[Note on letterhead of The Blackstone, Chicago.]This note was composed between April 14 and 19, 1935. In his letter of May 8, 1935, Robert Woods Bliss notes: “I left Guatemala on the 10th of April flying to Mexico City where I spent one day before continuing to Santa Barbara. There I spent three days with Mildred and then started with her across the continent. It was during our train journey that she gave me your letters, which had arrived during my trip in Central America, and I think I had best take them up in their order.” In his telegram of April 19, 1935, Bliss briefly conveys to Royall Tyler the decisions outlined in this note, which are expanded upon in his later of May 8, 1935.

6.II.35—BustrosElias (Elie) Bustros, an antiquities dealer in Beirut, Lebanon. pre-Col. gold-disk 6,000 fcs. 3 frogs and 1 bell—1000 fcs.These objects have not been identified. ? N.F.U.“Not for us.”

21.II.35 Sangiorgi 1) annunciationAnnunciation, late seventh–early eighth century (?), ivory, Civiche Raccolte d’Arte Applicata, Castello Sforzesco, Milan, inv. A.14. It was acquired from the Trivulzio Collection in 1935. The ivory has been variously dated. See Kurt Weitzmann, ed., Age of Spirituality: Late Antique and Early Christian Art, Third to Seventh Century (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1979), 198–99, no. 448; and Serena Ensoli and Eugenio La Rocca, Aurea Roma: Dalla città pagana alla città cristiana (Rome: L’Erma di Bretschneider, 2000), 590, no. 284. See also Byzantium and Islam: Age of Transition Seventh–Ninth Century, edited by Helen C. Evans with Brandie Ratliff (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2012), 46–47, no. 24H.—300,000 lire 2) Kaiser DiptychNow in the Civiche Raccolte d’Arte Applicata, Castello Sforzesco, Milan. See Wolfgang Fritz Volbach, Elfenbeinarbeiten der Spätantike und des frühen Mittelalters (Mainz: Verlag des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums, 1952), 29–30, no. 25. 300. 3) OttoChrist, Mary, Saint Maurice, Angels, and the Emperor Otto II and his Family, tenth century, ivory, Civiche Raccolte d’Arte Applicata, Castel Sforzesco, Milan. See Adolph Goldschmidt and Kurt Weitzmann, Die byzantinischen Elfenbeinskulpturen des X.–XIII. Jahrhunderts, vol. 2, Reliefs (Berlin: Bruno Cassirer, 1934), 15–16, pl. 2.—200. R. T. enthusiastic re. 1)

5.III.35. Cote of LyonClaudius Côte (1881–1956), a collector in Lyon, France. ivoryCrucifixion, ivory, late tenth century. Adolph Goldschmidt and Kurt Weitzmann, Die byzantinischen Elfenbeinskulpturen des X.–XIII. Jahrhunderts, vol. 2, Reliefs (Berlin: Bruno Cassirer, 1934), 68, no. 165, pl. 56.—150000 fcs. not so good as BurnsBZ.1929.2. NFU

9.III.35. R. T. goes Italy about May 6

22.III.35. More about S.Sangiorgi. annunciation

Describes Byzantine jewelPendant and Reliquary, ca. 398–407, agate, gold, emeralds, and rubies, Musée du Louvre, Paris, acc. no. OA 9523. On one side, the names of Maria, her parents, and husband are arranged to form the chi-rho (the first two Greek letters of the name of Christ). This side reads (clockwise around a central cross): HONORI, MARIA (forming the curve of the rho), SERHNA, STELICHO. On the other side, the names of Stelicho, his wife, and children are also arranged to form the chi-rho. This side reads (clockwise around a central cross): STELICHO, SERENA (forming the curve of the rho), EUCHERI, THERMANTIA. On both sides, the horizontal bar of the cross reads: VIVATIS “May they live.” Between the two pieces of agate is earth, most likely from the Holy Land. The pendant, which had been in the Trivulzio Collection, was acquired by a member of the Montesquiou-Fezensac family, and was an anonymous gift to the Musée du Louvre on behalf of the Société des Amis du Louvre in 1951. See Kurt Weitzmann, ed., Age of Spirituality: Late Antique and Early Christian Art, Third to Seventh Century (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1979), 306, no. 279. chez Sangiorgi (40000 l.) which R. T. considers “of really quite extraordinary importance historically and sounds very lovely.”

Letter introducing new Greek Minister.Demetrios Sicilianos (b. 1880), Greek minister to Hungary (1933–1935) and to the United States (1935–1940).

 
Associated Artworks: BZ.1929.2