Near East, Byzantine Period, ca. 5th century CE. A stunning gold ring comprised of a slender band and a sizeable, hexagonal bezel, skillfully incised with a detailed insignia. Projecting outward as though to form a halo-like frame from the lustrous shine of the gold, the lovely insignia features the image of a Byzantine cross above a left-facing bird carrying an olive branch - a common Early Christian symbol of deliverance, intended to represent a scene from the story of Noah's Ark in the Book of Genesis in which a bird that returns to the Ark with an olive branch indicating that land was near and thus symbolizing that Noah and his family would be rescued from the flood. Size: 0.9" Diameter (2.3 cm); gold quality: 89.3% (equivalent to over 21 karats); weight: 5.6 grams; US ring size: 6

Rings were of particularly high importance in the Byzantine era. Gary Vikan in "Early Christian and Byzantine Rings in the Zucker Family Collection" notes, "No article of personal adornment was more prevalent in Byzantine society nor more important to the conduct of an individual's private and public business than was a signet ring. The emperor wore an official ring as a symbol of power and as an implement for the authentication of certain communications and documents, and the same was true for a wide range of civil and ecclesiastical officials. As for the average citizen, signets in their locking capacity were essential for the maintenance of personal security, whereas signets in their authenticating capacity were required by law for the validation of wills and testaments. Beyond this, rings functioned in a purely social context as jewelry - as a natural and traditional mode of self adornment" (The Journal of the Walters Art Gallery 45, 1987: page 32). In the fourth century, Christian imagery as a subject for insignia rings rose in popularity as a response to Constantine's legitimation and growing dominance of the faith, especially in the western Roman Empire. Thus, Christian symbols of deliverance became increasingly fashionable motifs to sport on one's fingers and often morphed from previously neutral images, just as the formerly conventional motif of a bird changed into the bird and olive branch of the Old Testament that we see here.

Provenance: private Boynton Beach, Florida Collection, USA; ex-private London, UK collection, assembled prior to 2000; ex-Virginia, USA collection

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#168987

Expected light scratches, commensurate with age and wear. Otherwise, intact and excellent with impressive remaining detail.