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Barnebys HQ
Brahegatan 10
BOX 5038
114 37 Stockholm
All auctions / Jewelry & Gems / Two Byzantine to Medieval Copper & Bronze Rings
Eastern Mediterranean, Byzantine to Medieval period. A pair of cast finger rings, each carrying a broad circular bezel above a slender hoop that tapers toward the back of the band. The larger, of copper alloy, presents a rosette of eight radiating petals around a raised central boss, the design cut in low relief and softened by long burial. Its companion, of leaded bronze, bears a densely worked bezel of interlacing bands in a basketweave or knot pattern, the striations still crisp within a beaded rim. Both belong to a broad Byzantine and medieval tradition of modest personal jewelry in base metal, worn as everyday adornment and, in the case of the interlace bezel, perhaps pressed into wax or clay as a simple seal. Surfaces retain green and earthen patination consistent with age. Base-metal rings of this type circulated widely across the Byzantine world and its medieval successors, where copper-alloy jewelry served a population far broader than the gold-wearing elite. Geometric interlace, rosettes, and knotwork were the common decorative vocabulary, motifs read as apotropaic as often as ornamental: the endless line of an interlace was thought to entangle misfortune, the rosette to invoke light and vegetal renewal. Rings with flat, patterned bezels frequently doubled as personal seals for merchants, clerics, and household stewards who needed to close a letter or mark a jar of goods. The ring with the striated bezel contains up to 15% lead and is not recommended for wear. Item # 204617
Estimate:$350
To the auctionView all items fromArtemis Fine ArtsorJewelry & Gems
Estimate:
$350
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