Byzantine 21K Gold Ring | Set with Green Emerald and Two Pearls

Eastern Mediterranean, Late Roman to Byzantine. A finger ring of high-karat (over 21 karat) gold, its slender hammered band rising to a row of three bezel settings. A square box bezel holds a cloudy green emerald, polished flat on top. Beside it, two round collets cradle domed pearls, their surfaces weathered to a smoky violet-gray. The bezels are folded from gold sheet and soldered directly onto the hoop, and the setting is simple and sturdy. The stones are placed off-center, which gives the ring a lively asymmetry. Green stone and white pearl were a favorite pairing in the period, chosen for both color and status. The narrow hoop suggests a small finger, perhaps a woman's or a youth's. The ring was likely meant as personal adornment, showing the wearer's wealth through its pure gold and costly gems. Emeralds and pearls were among the most prized gems in the Roman world. Pliny the Elder ranked pearls just below diamonds in value and praised emeralds for soothing the eye. Most emeralds in the Roman and Byzantine Mediterranean came from the mines of Egypt's Eastern Desert, the Mons Smaragdus of the classical sources. Pearls came by sea from the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, and the Indian Ocean. Pearls are made of layered calcium carbonate and organic matter, so they rarely survive burial unchanged. Over centuries the nacre dulls, softens, and darkens. This is why ancient pearls usually appear gray, brown, or violet rather than with their original white luster. Item # 205480

Estimate:£1,130.33

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