Early Byzantine, 7th century; gold, pearls, sapphire; 2 cm (13/16 in.). BZ.1953.12.80
This gold ring reflects the taste of the late Roman and early Byzantine elite. Featuring precious stones, such extravagant rings were available only to a privileged few.
Provenance
- Possibly found in Constantinople. George Zacos (1911–1983), Istanbul; purchased from Zacos by Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, DC, 1953.
Selected Bibliography
- M. C. Ross, Jewelry, Enamels and Art of the Migration Period, vol. 2 of Catalogue of the Byzantine and Early Mediaeval Antiquities in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection (Washington, DC, 1965; 2nd ed. with addendum by S. A. Boyd and S. R. Zwirn, 2005), 61–62, no. 72, plate 45.