A female bust is carved on this luminous rock crystal ring. The object’s function is unclear, since its opening is too small to be worn on a finger. Rock crystal was prized for its rarity and beauty, and what few objects survive in the material were certainly considered precious luxuries.
Provenance
- Collection of Hayford Peirce (1883–1946); Pauline Brown Peirce (1911–1994), Los Angeles; gifted by Peirce to Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, DC, March 1963.
Selected Bibliography
- G. Bühl, ed., Dumbarton Oaks: The Collections (Washington, DC, 2008), 40, plate on 41.
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Roman, 2nd–3rd century; gold, glass paste; 29.2 × 2.2 × 1.3 cm (11 1/2 × 7/8 × 1/2 in.). BZ.1938.69.1
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Late Roman, 4th century; rock crystal; 4.5 × 1.9 × 3.8 cm (1 3/4 × 3/4 × 1 1/2 in.). BZ.1963.6
Hellenistic, late 4th–early 3rd century BCE; gold; 2 cm (13/16 in.). BZ.1940.25
Late Roman, 4th–5th century; gold, stone; 2 cm (13/16 in.). BZ.1957.52
Early Byzantine, 7th century; gold, pearls, sapphire; 2 cm (13/16 in.). BZ.1953.12.80