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LOT 1114
Byzantine Bronze Ring with Inscriptions
11TH CENTURY A.D.
7/8 in. (5.79 grams, 23.02 mm overall, 19.43 mm internal diameter (approximate size British T, USA 9 1/2, Europe 21.26, Japan 20)).
Flat-section hoop with incuse foliate designs on each of the shoulders, oval bezel with inscription in two lines: 'ΙΗX ΗΝΑ' = Ἰη[σοῦς] Χ[ριστός] H N[I]KA' = Jesus Christ and the Victory. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired on the UK and EU art market before 2000.
From the private collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.
Cf. Đurović, I., Средњовековни накит из збирки Народног музеја Крагујевац (Medieval jewelry from the collections of the National Museum Kragujevac, in Serbian), Крагујевац, 2012, fig.60, for the type.
FootnotesIn this category of rings, the oval hoop gradually widens into a full shoulder and a massive, flattened bezel. The bezel is an ellipsoidal field, decorated with a dedicatory inscription to Christ. The letters are roughly engraved. This ring is likely to have come from a Byzantine-era provincial Balkan workshop.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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Byzantine Bronze Ring with Warrior Saint
12th-13th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £59
Hoop with angled shoulders, hexagonal bezel with a stylised nimbate warrior holding a long spear and a shield. 3.24 grams, 21.62 mm overall, 18.18 mm internal diameter (approximate size British Q, USA 8, Europe 17.49, Japan 16)
Acquired on the UK and EU art market before 2000. From the private collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.
The bronze ring is compactly worked from a single bar. The hoop, hemispherical in section, broadens at the top, where the hexagonal ring bezel was hammered. The decoration inscribed in the hexagon shows a military saint in the upper field, surrounded by lines running parallel to the hexagon, which form a further decorative element. The bezel of these rings was decorated with stylised images, very often military saints, who were asked for protection and blessing. They are usually represented as one or two human figures, schematically depicted, inscribed in a circle, decorating the bezel. -
Byzantine Bronze Pendant Cross
10th-12th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £85
Expanding-arm type with integral loop and low-relief Maltese cross at the centre. 4.43 grams, 44 mm
Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman. -
Byzantine Bronze Pendant Cross
6th-8th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £72
Expanding-arm type with integral loop. 2.82 grams, 32 mm
Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.
