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Details
LOT 1084
Byzantine Bronze Ring with Warrior Saint
12TH-13TH CENTURY A.D.
1 in. (5.09 grams, 24.54 mm overall, 19.19mm internal diameter (approximate size British N 1/2, USA 6 3/4, Europe 14.35, Japan 13)).
D-section hoop with a rectangular bezel bearing an image of a warrior holding a long spear and a shield. [No Reserve]
Provenance
Acquired on the UK and EU art market before 2000.
From the private collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.
Literature
See Teicu, D., Arta Minoră Medievală din Banat (Minor Medieval Art in Banat),Timisoara, 2009, pls.17,2 and 20,6, for type and iconography.
Footnotes
The bronze ring is compactly worked from a single bar. The ring link, hemispherical in section, broadens at the top, where the ring head was hammered. It has a hexagonal shape. 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.
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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.
