Sasanian Engraved Garnet Seal Roaring Lion, Medieval Islamic Gold Mount

Near East, Persia, Sasanian intaglio in a Medieval Islamic setting. A gold finger ring set with an older engraved garnet: the stone is a Sasanian seal cut with a lion, and the mount was made centuries later in the medieval Islamic world so the gem could be worn again. The oval stone is a deep wine-red. Cut into its face is a lion facing left, crouched to spring, with its forelegs thrust forward, head lowered, haunches raised, and tail curling up over its back. Its jaws are open in mid-roar. Short, wedge-like strokes of the drill and wheel build the mane and the tense body, so the image prints in sharp relief when pressed into clay or wax. The tall bezel rises in stepped gold bands with small applied beads at the sides. It sits on a slender round-wire shank of gold assayed at 84.3 percent purity, about 20.23 karats. Engraved seal stones were central to Sasanian administration and to personal identity. Officials, priests, and private owners pressed them into clay bullae to seal documents, storerooms, and goods. Garnet and other red stones were among the most favored materials. The lion was one of the most common designs, linked with royal power and with protective strength. Sasanian gems kept their value long after the dynasty fell in the mid-7th century. Under Islamic rule they were collected, reset in new mounts, and sometimes engraved again with Arabic names or pious phrases. Here the old Persian seal kept its original lion, and a later goldsmith gave it a new and wearable setting. Item # 205476

Estimate:$1,000

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