Western Asiatic Gold Ring with Boar Gemstone

14TH CENTURY A.D. AND EARLIER

1 in. (8.63 grams, 25.72 mm overall, 18.95 mm internal diameter (approximate size British P 1/2, USA 7 3/4, Europe 16.86, Japan 16)).

With a keeled hoop and openwork shield-shaped shoulder with scroll ornament, a diamond-shaped shield with a cross to the base of the hoop; large bezel with an applied stylised bird underneath, the sides with pellet ornament in three rows, four claws holding the 4th-5th century Sassanian intaglio depicting a boar devouring the leg of its prey. [No Reserve]

Provenance

Private collection, USA, acquired in the 1990s.

Accompanied by a copy of a previous cataloguing information page.

Literature

Cf. Wenzel, M., Ornament & Amulet. Rings of the Islamic Lands (The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art), London, 1993, no.292, for a silver ring of similar design.

Footnotes

It was a fairly common practice to re-use Sassanian intaglios in Islamic rings from Iran. In Eastern cultures the boar was a sacred animal with magical powers.

CONDITION

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LOT 0288