Three Roman to Byzantine Rings | Star and Ring-and-Dot Bezels

Eastern Mediterranean, late Roman to early Byzantine period. A trio of finger rings whose bezels carry the compact geometric vocabulary of the late antique world. The largest, a copper-alloy example with a broad oval face, bears an incised five-pointed star set within a lightly stippled field. A second copper-alloy ring, heavier in the shoulder, presents four deeply drilled bosses arranged in a quincunx-like cluster across a domed bezel. The third is brass, its wavy-edged bezel swelling into a pointed oval reminiscent of a mandorla and worked with seven concentric ring-and-dot punches. All three retain scattered green cuprous patina against burnished high points. Star and ring-and-dot motifs of this kind were widely read as apotropaic, and such rings likely served as personal amulets as much as ornament or seal. The ring-and-dot punch, a compass-scribed or drill-cut circlet around a central point, is one of the most persistent decorative devices in the ancient Mediterranean and Northern Europe, running from the Bronze Age through the early medieval period. Its very ubiquity makes it a poor dating tool on its own, but its endurance is telling: the motif was widely understood to deflect the evil eye, the concentric rings reading as a watchful eye turned back upon the viewer. The five-pointed star carried a parallel charge. Known to Greek writers as the pentalpha and associated with Pythagorean number symbolism, it passed into late Roman and early Byzantine amuletic practice as a seal of protection, appearing on rings, gems, and lamella alongside invocations and divine names. Its unbroken single stroke was read as a closed circuit no malevolent force could enter. Please note that these rings contain 3 to 6% lead. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids. Item # 204927

Estimate:£149.5

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