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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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