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Details

LOT 0772

Byzantine Bronze Inscribed Ring

CIRCA 7TH CENTURY A.D.

3/4 in. (4.30 grams, 21.70 mm overall, 19.70 mm internal diameter (approximate size British Q, USA 8, Europe 17.49, Japan 16)).

With flat-section expanding hoop, scrolls and leaf motifs to shoulders; oval bezel with three lines of Greek inscription reciting Κ[ΥΡI]Ε ΒΟΗΘΗI ΑΗΑ (= Lord helps A...A). [No Reserve]

Provenance

Acquired in the 1980s-1990s.
Property of a Nottinghamshire gentleman.

Literature

Cf. Wamser, L., Die Welt von Byzanz - Europas Östliches Erbe, München, 2004, item 668, for type.

Footnotes

The inscription on the ring is the typical invocatory formula Kyrie boethei N., which calls directly upon the Lord for help; this form, beside the one calling the Virgin for help as well (Theotokos boethei), is common in the inscriptions of the Eastern Roman Empire.

CONDITION

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AUCTIONS:

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LOT 0772

Byzantine Bronze Inscribed Ring

Sold for (Inc. bp): £286

Print page

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