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Although many rings dating from the late 5th and early 6th

century survive, no careful typological study of these has yet

been undertaken.1 The various shapes of Early Byzantine ringsare, however, adequately documented in publications of

individual museum and private collections.2 These rings, like

much of what is often termed the koinstyle of Byzantinejewellery (found throughout the Empire), tend to fall into clear

categories based on shape and technique, with a far more

limited variety than was seen during the Roman Empire. Most

of the shapes that emerged in the 6th century are distinctive

and found in relatively large numbers, but there are someunusual types as well. This paper will examine three related

aspects relating to the typology of Early Byzantine rings: somerare varieties of the late 5th century, some unconventional

rings of the 6th7th centuries, and the connection between

rings of Byzantine origin and similar examples produced in the

Germanic kingdoms in the West (Ostrogothic, Lombardic,Merovingian, Vandal, and Visigothic), a relationship that has

not been particularly well documented.

Already by the mid-3rd century, after the fall of the Severandynasty, a significant change in fashion is apparent. Gemstones

were rarely engraved, and rings were set instead with old

gems, unengraved gems, or coins. In the Constantinian period,rings became larger, with tubular hoops or hoops decoratedwith f loral patterns (usually an acanthus wreath). Sometimes

the hoops and bezels are hollow with embossed decoration.

Material from the late 4th and 5th centuries is poorlyattested and difficult to classify, but evidence is provided by

several late 5th century hoards of jewellery. Unfortunately,

there is no trace of the greatest discovery of the period, the

tomb of the empress Maria, wife of Honorius, who died aroundthe year 400 and was buried in the now-destroyed chapel of St

Petronilla in St Peters in Rome.3 When the chapel was

demolished in 1544, workmen found the tomb which

contained, according to contemporary accounts, two silverboxes full of rings. Nothing appears to have survived or was

even recorded with the exception of the so-called bulla, a goldpendant studded with emeralds and garnets enclosing a cameo

in the shape of a chi-rho monogram composed of the names of

Maria and her family.4 The use of emerald and garnet is typical

of the changing tastes in gemstones in Late Antiquity; thesestones, along with sapphire, amethyst, and rock crystal,

become the most popular stones for use in jewellery.

The most important and best recorded hoard of the late 5thcentury material was found at Reggio Emilia in 1957.5 The

hoard, evidently belonging to an eastern Germanic official of

some standing, contained jewellery of the highest quality,including necklaces and earrings set with garnets, a pair ofGothicfibulae, a gold opus interrasilefibula of

Constantinopolitan manufacture denoting the owners high

official status,6 15 gold rings, some set with gems, and gold

coins of the late 5th century down to the time of Emperor Zeno(47491). There is a notable variety of rings, but all display

typically Late Antique characteristics, such as tubular hoops

and hollow hoops with embossed floral (acanthus) decoration.

Most of the rings are set with gems typical of the period(emerald, garnet, sapphire, and pearl), while other rings have

bezels engraved with Gothic names or Latin monograms, a

fashion introduced at the end of the 5th century.One particular variety of ring is of special interest as it

suggests ties to Constantinople. The shape is characterized by

its ribbed, calyx-shaped bezel set with a gem and joined toeither a tubular or octagonal hoop. Two examples were presentin the Reggio Emilia hoard, one with an unengraved nicolo, the

other with a garnet.7 A number of similar rings are known,

including one example set with a much older engraved gemprobably of 1st centurybc date (Pls 1ab),8 another in a hoard

of Byzantine jewellery from Istria, Romania, set with a

contemporary engraved garnet,9 and a third discovered inGeorgia, also with an engraved garnet.10 Other examples

without recorded provenance are known as well.11 An origin for

the workshop in Constantinople is suggested by the eastern

Mediterranean and Black Sea provenance of a number of rings,

as well as the frequent use of contemporary engraved garnetscut in what I have defined as a prolific garnet workshop in

late-5th century Constantinople. Around 70 examples ofgarnets from the workshop have now been recorded, all of

distinctive shape, style, and iconography.12

Engraved garnets from this workshop are also found set in

a group of finely embossed rings, most of which have beendiscovered in Italy. One example was present in the Reggio

Emilia hoard; its hoop is embossed with a f loral pattern, and

the garnet is engraved with a dolphin.13 Another hoard ofjewellery and silver, said to have been discovered at or in the

vicinity of Desana (Vercelli), contained nine gold rings, similar

to the variety found in the Reggio Emilia hoard, including oneof the embossed type set with a garnet engraved with a hare.14A third embossed ring, set with an unengraved garnet, was

found in a Gothic grave at Torriano, which also contained a

pair offibulae of Gothic type and a belt buckle.15 The finest

Some Unconventional Early Byzantine Rings

Jeffrey Spier

Plates 1a-b Gold ring set with an earlier intaglio, Byzantine, late 5th century.Private collection


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Plates 2a-c Gold ring set with an engraved garnet, Byzantine, late 5th century. London, British Museum (PE 72,6-4,313)

Plates 3a-c Gold ring set with an engraved garnet portrait of Theodosius II (40150). Private collection

Plates 4a-b Gold ring set with an engraved garnet, Byzantine, 5th century.Vidin (Bulgaria), Historical Museum

Plates 5a-b Gold ring with niello inlay, Byzantine, late 5th century. FormerlyChristies, New York, Antiquities, 18 December 1998, lot 160

14 | Intelligible Beauty

Spier




example of the embossed group, a ring in the British Museum,may also have been discovered in Italy (although no find site is

recorded, it was purchased from the Roman dealer Alessandro

Castellani) (Pl. 2).16 The engraved garnet shows an unusualimage of a seated figure, his hands raised in prayer, likely

depicting the emperor flanked by crosses. The hoop is finely

embossed with floral motifs, tendrils, and birds. Although most

of these rings have been found in Italy, the garnets are

certainly from Constantinopolitan workshops, and the rings,too, were most likely produced there. The date for the group

must be in the late 5th century in v iew of the coins in theReggio Emilia hoard and the style of the gems. The rings, like

the fine opus interrasile goldfibulae, were likely gifts bestowed

as signs of official status and demonstrate direct

communication between the Byzantine court and Gothicofficials in Italy.

Engraved garnets from the same workshop in

Constantinople are found in some other rings of similar dateand related style and technique. They have different forms of

calyx bezel, often of high, stepped form. The finest and

earliest datable example is the very large, hollow gold ring withits hoop embossed with an acanthus wreath and a steppedbezel set with a garnet engraved with a frontal portrait of the

Emperor Theodosius II (40150). The ring no doubt once

belonged to an important imperial official or client king (Pls

3a-c).17 A simpler but typologically related ring was found in a

hoard of jewellery from Ratiaria, Bulgaria, thought to date

from the mid-5th century. It has a tubular hoop and steppedbezel set with a garnet engraved with a cross (Pls 4ab).18

Also around this date (the mid- to late 5th century), ring

bezels began to be engraved with personal names and

monograms, a fashion that became increasingly popular. Rings

bearing Latin monograms and both Roman and Gothic nameswere present in the Reggio Emilia and Desana hoards and have

been found elsewhere in Italy as well. One ring from ReggioEmilia is inscribed with the names of a Gothic couple, Stafara

and Ettila.19 A ring in the Desana hoard records the names

Stefanus and Valatruda, perhaps a mixed marriage between a

Roman and a Gothic woman.20 Similarly, the grave of a Gothic,perhaps Gepidic, aristocrat discovered at Apahida in Romania

contained spectacular gold and garnet jewellery, buckles, and

fibulae, including an opus interrasile example fromConstantinople, together with three rings.21 One ring is

inscribed in Latin with the Gothic name Omharus, very likely

the owner of the treasure. A second ring bears an engravedmonogram that has been read as also representing the nameOmharus.22 The letter forms are, however, Greek, and the

identical monogram is used elsewhere for the common name

Marias (the genitive form of Maria).23 This ring was an import

from Constantinople, and although the commonly found, off-the-shelf monogram could have been selected to denote

Omharus, perhaps it is more likely that the ring belonged to the

Gothic officials wife (a Greek?), named Maria. In any event,the fashion for rings with monograms, which had reached

Gothic Italy by the late 5th century, certainly originated in

Constantinople. Rings with Greek monograms of block type

were widely used, and the style continued well into the 6th

century, eventually to be replaced by cruciform monogramsaround 550.24

Several other distinctive varieties of rings originated inConstantinople in the late 5th century and served as prototypes

for Western copies. The Byzantine origin of one such group has

become clear recently thanks to the appearance of several

previously unpublished examples.25 The rings have broadhoops, usually curved slightly inward, with f lattened,

triangular shoulders decorated with niello inlay and

sometimes monograms. The bezels are stepped, with the topeither engraved or set with a stone. The finest extant example

has a partridge engraved on the bezel, niello-inlaid floral

motifs and spirals on the shoulders, inlaid patterns of steps andwaves on the sides of the bezel and hoop, and two engravednames EYTYXHOY and MAPIAC, (of ) Eutychios (and) Maria

(Pl. 5).26 A second example, seemingly by the same goldsmith,

has similar niello decoration on the shoulders and around thebezel but not on the hoop, and there are no names; the bezel is

set with a cabochon garnet (Pl. 6). A third specimen is much

smaller and lighter, with a cruder pattern of palmettes inlaidwith niello on the shoulders; engraved on the top of the bezel is

the Greek monogram for Marias, (of) Maria (Pl. 7). An

example in silver with gilded top, in the Schmidt collection in

Munich, is engraved with two monograms on the shoulders

(Pl. 8).27

All these are certainly eastern, likely fromConstantinople.

Plate 6 Gold ringwith niello inlay,set with a garnet,Byzantine, late 5thcentury. Privatecollection

Plate 7 Gold ringwith niello inlayand engravedmonogram,Byzantine, late 5thcentury. Privatecollection

Plates 8a-b Silver ring with gilding and engraved monograms, Byzantine, late5th century. Munich, C.S. collection


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the Guilhou collection and likely from Italy (purchased from

Castellani again) also has triangular shoulders and even moreelaborate niello inlay.32 The bezel is set with an emerald and

two garnets. The Latin inscription around the bezel reads,

micael mecv vivas in deo, Michael, live with me in God. The

fine floral decoration on the shoulders finds a close parallel on

the remarkable gold reliquary cross discovered in 1863 in the

church of San Lorenzo fuori le mura in Rome and now in theVatican Museums collection, which in addition bears block

monograms and Latin inscriptions.33 Both ring and cross must

come from the same mid- 6th-century workshop, probably inRome.

During the 6th century, a number of new varieties of rings

were introduced by workshops in Constantinople, and some ofthese proved influential on tastes in the west. The mostpopular type of Byzantine ring had a tubular or octagonal hoop

joined to a separately worked flat bezel (round, square,

cruciform, or f loral-shaped), which was engraved with a

There are, however, western versions closely copying the

shape of the originals. A gold ring with ruby setting is of thesame shape and similarly has niello inlay on the triangular

shoulders (Pl. 9).28 It is said to be from Italy and was likelymade there, as suggested by the unusual niello design, but

bronze rings of similar shape and with the same distinctive

decorative pattern on the shoulders were likely made in

Visigothic Spain as well (Pl. 10). 29 A slightly later but closelyrelated shape is seen on a particularly fine gold ring in the

Museo Lzaro Galdiano in Madrid, which is set with an

emerald engraved with busts of Peter and Paul (Pls 11a-c).30Around the bezel and on the triangular shoulders are carefully

engraved Latin inscriptions and monograms with niello inlay,

augustini vita in xps, Augustinus, life is in Christ, and a pairof identical cruciform monograms best resolved as the nameAugustinus. The cruciform monogram first appeared in

Byzantium in the 520s31 and became increasingly popular; this

ring may date c. 550 or slightly later. Another fine ring, once in

Plates 11a-c Gold ring with niello inlay, set with an engraved emerald, Rome(?), 6th century. Madrid, Museo Lzaro Galdiano

Plate 12 Silver ring of architecturalform, Byzantine, mid-6th century.Toronto, Royal Ontario Museum

Plate 13 Gold ring of architecturalform, Merovingian, 6th century, fromLa Garde (Loire). Private collection

Plates 9a-b Gold ring with niello inlay, set with a ruby, Gothic, late 5thcentury. London, British Museum (PE AF 483)

Plate 10 Bronze ring with engraved decoration, Visigothic, late 5th century.Private collection




monogram, religious invocation, or iconographic device (suchas Christ, the Virgin, a saint, or an eagle with wings spread).

Somewhat surprisingly, rings of this type had little influence in

the West. Other Byzantine rings were more elaborate, notably

those with tall, conical, or calyx-shaped bezels ringed with

pearls and set with rock crystal, garnet, emerald, sapphire orpearl, with broad hoops, sometimes embossed or executed in

openwork. All these varieties of rings have been found togetherin hoards, demonstrating their contemporaneity. They may

well derive from the same goldsmiths ateliers that produced

other types of jewellery, such as earrings, necklaces, small

crosses and various forms of pendants.34

Two types of rings of relatively simple construction appear

to have originated in Constantinople and achieved great

popularity in the Gothic West in more elaborate versions. TheByzantine prototypes of both varieties were included in an

interesting hoard of silver jewelry, including coins, belt buckles

and tabs, a spoon, an amuletic silver armband, fragments ofpendants, and at least eight rings, all datable to the mid-6thcentury, now in Toronto. The shape of one of the rings can be

described as architectural. The tubular hoop is attached to a

bezel composed of a square platform and four pieces of filigreewire bent into semi-circles terminating in spirals, which

support a hemispherical, dome-like element; additional pellets

sometimes ornament the joins and the top of the dome (Pl.

12).35 In addition to the silver example in Toronto, specimens in

gold are in the Benaki Museum and in the Stathatos Collection

in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens, the latter said

to be from the island of Chios.36

The architectural shape reached the West, but therebecame far more elaborate in decoration. An example found in

the church of Madonna dell Orto in Rome has a heavyopenwork hoop decorated with beaded wire; the filigree

columns on the bezel support a pyramidal roof ornamented

with granulation.37 Merovingian examples, which survive in

some quantity, tend to be even more complex, adding filigreewire and granulation to band hoops and pyramidal tops, some

set with garnets or other gems (Pl. 13).38 Examples reached

Spain as well.39 Heavier versions, with squat columns andbezels either engraved or set with gems, are typically found in

Alamannic and Germanic sites in Germany and Eastern

Europe, although at least one was discovered in Gaul.40

The second variety of ring is not well attested in Byzantinefinds, but three examples in silver were present in the Toronto

hoard. Another example in gold, not from the hoard but

certainly of Byzantine manufacture judging from its style, is in

the same collection (Pl. 14).41 These rings have band hoops,curved inward, and are distinctive for their bezel decorated

with two raised, diamond-shaped elements placed side-by-side

and outlined in beaded wire filigree, with some additional

filigree on the shoulders. This variety, too, reached the West,

where typically they had broad bands and were decorated withelaborate filigree and granulation. They are well attested, both

in gold and silver, at Lombardic sites, most notably the 6th7th-century burials at Castel Trosino, near Rome (Pl. 15).42 A few

Merovingian examples, very similar to those from Rome, have

been found in Gaul.43

A final group of elaborately constructed rings with complexbezels set with precious stones is poorly documented, but these

rings, too, appear to have originated in Byzantium and found

favour in the Gothic west. Without further provenanceinformation, however, it is difficult to form a clear picture of

their development. One type is distinguished by its unusual

double-bezel taking the form of a large central setting (oval,rectangular, or diamond-shaped) with an additional element,often a small cone outlined in filigree, attached to the side of

the ring. Both elements are set with gems or pearls. Rings with

double-bezels of this type may date as early as the 3rdcentury,44 but a number of examples are clearly of 6th or early

7th century date. A very fine gold example set with an emerald

and a garnet appears to be Byzantine,45 as does another with aband hoop and calyx bezel set with a garnet and a pearl.46 A

remarkable variant in the Stathatos collection in Athens has a

rectangular central element set with a large garnet and

decorated with a border of granulated pyramids, while a small

bezel on the side has a hinged gold foil cross that served as acover for the compartment (perhaps for a relic?).47 A very

similar example is in a private collection in Munich. Simplerversions, which have appeared on the market in recent years

without recorded provenance, also may be Byzantine.48 Several

others of slightly more ornate form have been discovered in

Gaul and are likely of Merovingian origin.49A related type of ring adds an architectural feature of four

columns supporting a rectangular bezel set with a gem. One

example decorated with filigree and set with a large garnet isthought to be from Italy (Pls 16ab).50 A ring in the Hashimoto

collection combines this variety of architectural ring with the

double-bezel group by adding a small second bezel of conicalshape to the side of the ring, along with filigree wire decoration(Pl. 17).51 Another example in a private collection is similar, but

it is set with a rock crystal engraved with a cross (the engraved

side set face down) and a garnet in the small, conical side bezel

Plate 14 Gold ring with double-diamond bezel,Byzantine, 6th century. Toronto, Royal OntarioMuseum

Plate 15 Gold rings with double-diamond bezels, Lombardic, late 6th7th century, from CastelTrosino. Rome, Museo dellAlto Medioevo


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9 Ibid., 87, no. 483.10 Ibid., 87, no. 486.11 Ibid., 91, n. 11; for another, set with a plasma intaglio, see H. Battke,

Geschichte des Ringes, Pforzheim, 1953, 378, no. 45, pl. 8; R.Hadjadj,Bagues mrovingiennes. Gaule du Nord , Paris, 2007, 290,no. 359, records several specimens from Gaul, but, like theexamples from Italy, these are likely Byzantine imports.

12 Spier (n. 3), 8792.13 Degani (n. 5), 62, no. 8; Spier (n. 3), 88, no. 504.14 V. Bierbrauer,Die ostgotischen Grab- und Schatzfund in Italien ,

Spoleto, 1974, 270 1, pl. 12, 8; Spier (n. 3), 88, no. 508.15 Bierbrauer (n. 14), 31820, pls 423; Spier (n. 3), 90, n. 8.16 Spier (n. 3), 89 and 92, no. 522.17 Ibid., 256, no. 76.18 D. Giorgetti, Trsor de parures dor et dobjets dargent,

Archeologiya(Sofia) 3 (1988), 32, no. 4, fig. 6; Spier (n. 3), 89, no.512.

19 Degani (n. 5), 63, no. 15, and the commentary on the Gothic nameson this and related rings, 79110 (C.A. Mastrelli); for similar ringswith Gothic names, see also: O.M. Dalton,Franks Bequest.Catalogue of the Finger Rings, Early Chri stian, Byzantine, Teutonic,

Mediaeval and Later, London, 1912, 3, no. 11 (Blithia and monogram)and 23, no. 146 (Gundehildis); Hadjadj (n. 11), 343, no. 470.

20 Bierbrauer (n. 14), 270, pl. 12, 7.21 M.C. Bianchini (ed.),Lor des princes barbares du Caucase la Gaule

Ve sicle aprs J.-C., Paris, 2000, 184 90, nos 30, 3, and 30, 4.22 J. Werner, Namensring und Siegelring aus dem gepidischen

Grabfund von Apahida, Siebenbrgen,Klner Jahrbuch fr Vor-und Frhgeschichte 9 (196768), 1203, who recognized that theletter forms are Greek but believed the monogram should beresolved as Omharus, which is conceivable.

23 See the Byzantine ring, Pl. 7 above, and the garnet, Spier (n. 3), 90,no. 538.

24 See, for example, O.M. Dalton, Catalogue of Early ChristianAntiquities and Objects from the Christian East in the Department ofBritish and Mediaeval Antiquities and Ethnography of the British

Museum, London, 1901, 27, nos 168 and 170; G. Taylor and D.Scarisbrick,Finger Rings. From Ancient Egypt to the Present Day,Oxford, 1978, 42, no. 201; G. Schlumberger and A. Blanchet,Collections Sigillographiques, Paris, 1914, 180, no. 605, pl. 25, 9

(Pls 18ab). The engraved rock crystal very likely is a product

of a late 6th- or early 7th-century workshop perhaps located in

Antioch; other rock crystals of this type were set in pendants,although no other recorded specimen is in a ring.52 Like other

rings of 6th7th century date, these elaborately constructed

double-bezel and architectural rings, although difficult to

categorise with the little information available, appear also tohave originated in Byzantium before finding their way West.

Notes1 For the typology of rings dating from the imperial period, see the

useful surveys in: F.H. Marshall, Catalogue of the Finger Rings,Greek, Etruscan and Roman, in the Departments of Antiquities

British Museum, London, 1907, xlvxlix; F. Henkel,Die rmischenFingerringe der Rheinlande , Berlin, 1913.

2 See, for example, M.C. Ross,Catalogue of the Byzantine and Early

Mediaeval Antiquities in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection, vol. 2,

Jewelry, Enamels, and Art of the Migration Period , Washington DC,1965; G. Vikan, Early Christian and Byzantine Rings in the ZuckerFamily Collection,Journal of the Walters Art Gallery 45 (1987),3243.

3 J. Spier,Late Antique and Early Christian Gems , Wiesbaden, 2007,12; the contemporary accounts of the discover y of the tomb aregathered by P. Mazzuchelli,La Bolla di Maria, moglie dOnorioimperatore che si conserva nel Museo Trivulzio, brevamente spiegata,Milan, 1819.

4 Spier (n. 3), 138, no. 752; P. Pasini (ed.),387d.c. Ambrogio e Agostino.Le sorgenti dellEuropa , Milan, 2003, 441, no. 339 (E. Gagetti).

5 M. Degani,Il Tesoro Romano Barbarico di Reggio Emilia , Florence,1959.

6 Forfibulae of this type, see B. Deppert-Lippitz, A Late Antique Gold

Fibula in the Burton Y. Berry Collection, in A. Calinescu (ed.),Ancient Jewelry and Archaeology, Bloomington and Indianapolis,1996, 23543; and for objects presented as imperial largess, see R.MacMullen, The emperors largesses,Latomus21 (1962), 15966.

7 Degani (n. 5), 61, nos 56, pl. 22, 25.8 Spier (n. 3), 91, n. 11, pl. 138, fig. 7.

Plates 16ab Gold ring, set with garnet, Lombardic (?), late 6th7th century. Privatecollection

Plate 17 Gold ringwith double bezel,Byzantine orMerovingian, 6th7thcentury. Tokyo,Hashimoto collection

Plates 18ab Gold ring with doublebezel, set with engraved rock crystaland garnet, Byzantine, 6th7thcentury. Private collection




(which should be read as Konstantinou); C. Stiegemann,Byzanz.Das Licht aus dem Osten , Mainz, 2001, 3289, no. IV.63 (J. Spier),read as perhaps Eugenios.

25 J. Spier, Un anillo bizantino-occidental en el Museo LzaroGaldiano, Goya. Revista de Arte 216 (1990), 32830, first discussesthe group, but a number of additional examples have since come tolight.

26 Christies, New York, Antiquities, 18 December 1998, lot 160; there aresuperb modern forgeries of this ring in both gold and silver.

27 Spier (n. 25), 329, fig. 4; collection C.S., Munich.28 Dalton (n. 19), 28, no. 176a; for another gold ring of similar shape,said to be from S. Angelo dei Lombardi in Campania, see Marshall(n. 1), 138, no. 846.

29 Private collection, unpublished; see also, Wm. Reinhart, Losanillos Hispano-Visigodos,Archivo espnol de arqueologia 20(1947), 177, fig. 3, nos 65 and 69.

30 Spier (n. 3), 99 and 101, no. 579.31 The earliest datable cruciform monograms are those of the

Emperor Justin I (51827), which appear on small bronze coinsstruck at Antioch, for which see M. Phillips and S. Tyler-Smith, Asixth-century hoard of nummi and five-nummi pieces,NumismaticChronicle (1998), 318 and 322.

32 M. Deloche,Anneaux sigillaires, Paris, 1900, 3067, no. CCLVI;Spier (n. 25), 330, fig. 6.

33 G.B. De Rossi, La croce doro rinvenuta nella basilica di SanLorenzo,Bullettino di Archeologia Cristiana 1 (1863), 338; F.Bisconti and G. Gentili (eds),La Rivoluzione dellimmagine. Arte

paleocristinana tra Roma e Bisanzi , Milan, 2007, 1723, no. 37 (C.Lega).

34 See, for example, the hoard of jewellery said to be from Syria andnow in Washington, which includes six rings of different shapes:Ross (n. 2), 1359, no. 179A-S.

35 Royal Ontario Museum, inv. no. 986.101.102.36 B. Segall,Katalog der Goldschmiede-arbeiten: Museum Benaki,

Athen, Athens, 1938, 162, no. 356, pl. 50; . Coche de la Fert,Collection Hlne Stathatos: les objets byzantins et post-byzantins,Limoges, 1957, 1517, pl. 1, 3; another silver example, said to havebeen found in Lebanon with other rings, is in Munich: L. Wamserand G. Zahlhaas (eds),Rom und Byzanz. Archologische

Kostbarkeiten aus Bayern , Munich, 1998, 2178, no. 318; for a gold

example with a cameo set in the bezel: Spier (n. 3), no. 751; andanother set with an emerald: D. Scarisbrick,Historic Rings. FourThousand Years of Craftsmanship, Tokyo, New York and London,2004, 434, no. 104 (Hashimoto collection, Tokyo).

37 F. Gaultier and C. Metzger (eds),Trsors antiques. Bijoux de lacollection Campana, Milan, 2005, 148, no. III.9; see also an examplesaid to be from Milan: Dalton (n. 19), 27, no. 174.

38 Hadjadj (n. 11), 747, nos 246, 253, 259, 325, 378, 393, 482, 483, 493,499, 534, 561, 569, 587, 594. Pl. 13, from La Garde (Loire) and now ina private collect ion, is published in Deloche (n. 32), pl. 4, 11, andHadjadj (n. 11), no. 587; S. Hindman, Towards an Art Hi story of

Medieval Rings. A Private Collection , London, 2007, 703 and 21718,no. 10. One ring probably of Merovingian origi n was discovered in a7th-century Avar grave in Hungary: F. Daim, Avars and Avararchaeology: an introduction, in H.-W. Goetz, J. Jarnut and W. Pohl

(eds),Regna and Gentes. The Relationship between Late Antique andEarly Medieval Peoples and Kingdoms in the Transformation of the

Roman World, Leiden and Boston, 2003, 491, pl. 25, 2; I am gratefulto Falko Daim for this information. See also the architecturalelement of a ring used as the head of a pin, probably from a

Merovingian grave: O. van Hessen,Museo Nazionale del Bargello.Gioielli franchi della collezione Carrand, Florence, 1981, 11, pl. 1b.

39 A ring very similar to Merovingian examples was found atTorredonjimeno: Reinhart (n. 29), 169, fig. 1, 4a; a more unusualring set with a pearl, said to be from Alcudia (Elche) and allegedlyfound with other rings, jewellery, and 4th-century coins, appears todate much later than the 4th century: see, H. Schlunk and T.Hauschild,Hispania Antiqua , Mainz, 1978, 157, pls 48b and 49b(private collection of A. Ramos Folqus).

40 For example: a gold ring from a womans grave at Samobor(Zagreb), Croatia: W. Menghin, T. Springer and E. Wamers (eds),Germanen, Hunnen und Awaren, Nrnberg, 1987, 191 and 196, IV,8.a; another gold ring from a 6th-century womans grave atDonzdorf (Baden-Wrttemberg): H. Roth,Kunst und Handwerk im

frhen Mittelalter , Stuttgart, 1986, pl. 44b; a gold ring engravedwith a monogram: A.B. Chadour,Ringe. Die Alice und Louis KochSammlung, Leeds, 1994, vol. 1, 151, no. 507; a silver example ofunknown provenance, once set with a stone: C.C. Oman, Victoriaand Albert Museum. Catalogue of Rings, London, 1930, 65, no. 235,pl. 9; and a gold ring, finely car ved and engraved with a male headin profile and an inscription, discovered at Saint-Pierre (Ardche):Deloche (n. 32), 2345, no. CCX.

41 Royal Ontario Museum, Inv. no. 986.181.1; the silver rings are inv.nos 986.101.103.12.

42 G. Becatti, Oreficerie antiche dalle minoiche alle barbariche, Rome,1955, 2212, nos 57980; C. Bertelli and G.P. Brogiolo (eds),Il futurodei longobardi. LItalia e la costruzione dellEuropa di Carlo Magno,Milan, 2000, 42, fig. 15, 48, no. 12d.

43 Hadjadj (n. 11), nos 87 and 97, both silver, and an unpublished goldexample.

44 Chadour (n. 40), 124, no. 426, set with emeralds.45 A.B. Chadour and R. Joppien,Kunstgewerbemuseum der Stadt Kln.

Schmuck II, Fingerringe, Cologne, 1985, 104, no. 15.46 Chadour (n. 40), 144, no. 484.47 A.K. Orlandos, Collection Hlne Stathatos: objets antiques et

byzantins, Strasbourg, 1963, 289, no. 230bis, pl. 44; L. Ktzsche-Breitenberg, Zum Ring des Gregor von Nyssa, in E. Dassmann andK. Thraede (eds), Tesserae. Festschrift fr Josef Engemann, Mnster,1991, 2918, pl. 38. In the late 4th century, St Macrina, the sister ofBasil of Caesarea and Gregory of Nyssa, was said to have worn an

iron ring which contained a piece of the True Cross (Gregory ofNyssa, Vita Macrinae), but no ring that served as a reliquar yappears to survive.

48 Hadjadj (n. 11), 3467, no. 474, Content collection, formerlyChristies, New York, Ancient Jewelry, 7 December 2006, lot 309, setwith an amethyst and a pearl; a very similar example set with agarnet appeared the following year: Christies, New York, Ancient

Jewelry, 6 December 2007, lot 468; an example in the BritishMuseum, Marshall (n. 1), 133, no. 815, set with a plasma and apartially dril led sapphire, does not have a recorded provenance.

49 Hadjadj (n. 11), 83 and 3467, nos 173, 330, 403, 426 and 474, whodiscusses the group and notes further examples from EasternEurope; see also the example set with a sapphire in the Victoria &

Albert Museum, which is said to be Merovingian: Oman (n. 40), 65,no. 239.

50 Hindman (n. 38), 669 and 21617, no. 9, as Lombardic, 7th century,although it may be earlier.

51 Scarisbrick (n. 36), 43, no. 103, formerly in the Adolphe Stocletcollection; the stones are missing.

52 Spier (n. 3), 11526, nos 6967 (crosses).

2 spier opt sec

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