Gem Ring

Gem Ring

Late Antique Ring with Modern Setting

Rings were a very common form of personal adornment within the Byzantine Empire. They would be a means of conveying the wealth and/ or faith of the wearer. While this particular gem ring doesn’t have any identifiable imagery, it does contain text engraved on the surface in intaglio (an engraving technique). This engraving, written in Greek, does not have any comprehensible meaning, which may suggest that it functioned as a curse ring.

The Penn Museum

Natalie Green

https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/169749

Agate and metal, height 1.2 cm, width 0.9 cm

Greek

Ring

29-128-1826