18th Aug, 2026 10:00
Out of the Ordinary
81
A bronze novelty model of a Medieval iron maiden
early 20th century,
the standing figure cast with a woman's mask and an elaborate ruff, the front hinged to reveal a spiked interior - an object to induce a terror of torture - on an oak plinth
4.8cm wide, 3.8cm deep, 11.5cm high
Provenance:From the collection of Tim Wonnacott FRICS.
Footnote:Despite its reputation as a medieval instrument of torture, there is no evidence of the existence of iron maidens in Europe before the 19th century. Professor Wolfgang Schild contends that the iron maidens on display around the world, including the Museum of US, the Meiji Museum, and several torture museums in Europe, are confections pieced together and created for exhibition. In antiquity, however, the Spartan tyrant Nabis, circa 200 BCE, is reputed to have used a similar device. The Abbasid vizier Ibn al-Zayyat is said to have created 'a wooden oven-like chest that had iron spikes' for torture, which would ironically be used during his own imprisonment in CE 847.
The most famous iron maiden was that in Nuremberg, displayed first in 1802, but lost to Allied bombing in 1945. A copy was sold by J Ichenhauser in 1890 to Lord Shrewsbury (and which may have inspired the production of miniature novelty bronze copies as in this example), which went for display in the Expo in Chicago in 1893 and is now on display in the Medieval Crime Museum in Rothenburg ob der Tauber.
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Witches, Monsters and Mysteries
Browse the selection of lots in the 'Witches, Monsters and Mysteries' category featured in our 18 August 'Out of the Ordinary' auction.
£200 - £400
Buyer's premium: 32.40% (inclusive of VAT, where applicable)
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Auction: Out of the Ordinary, 18th Aug, 2026
Viewing
VIEWING
Viewing will be held at our Stansted Auction Rooms, Cambridge Road, Stansted Mountfitchet CM24 8GE, as follows:
Friday 14 August, 10am - 4pm
Sunday 16 August, 10am - 1pm
Monday 17 August, 10am - 4pm
All lots are, however, extensively illustrated and carry detailed condition reports - see 'Condition report' at the foot of each lot description.
The auction will take place at our Stansted Auction Rooms, Cambridge Road, Stansted Mountfitchet CM24 8GE.
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