Post Roman Ring with Inscription

6TH-7TH CENTURY A.D.

1 in. (4.33 grams, 23.12 mm overall, 21.00 mm internal diameter (approximate size British U 1/2, USA 10 1/4, Europe 23.15, Japan 22)).

A bronze finger ring with raised ellipsoid bezel, the shoulders decorated with engraved foliage, on the bezel incised in Greek letters the inscription 'ΚΕΡΙ ΚАΛΗ' (written backwards).

Provenance

Acquired in the late 1990s-2000.
Property of an East London gentleman.

Literature

Cf. Hadjadj, R., Bagues Merovingiennes - Gaul du Nord, Paris, 2007, item 454, for type.

Footnotes

The ring corresponds to the 1d type of Hadjadj's classification. The Greek inscription is probably a barbaric interpretation of 'ΚΗΡΙ ΚАΛΗ' (kind-hearted). The Merovingian typology of the ring suggests a late Roman product under the Roman-Barbarian kingdoms of Gaul or the Iberian Peninsula.

CONDITION

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LOT 0750