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Ring in openwork filigree
Byzantine
Early Byzantine Period
late 6th-early 7th century
Medium/Technique
Gold
Dimensions
Diameter: 1.7 cm; width of band: 0.9 cm
Credit Line
Gift of Mary B. Comstock
Accession Number1987.272
CollectionsEurope, Jewelry, Ancient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Rings
DescriptionA gold ring with a hoop in openwork filigree. The ring consists of upper and lower rim of beaded wire soldered to a continuous undulating wave of plain wire creating an undulating grapevine. The spaces of the wave/grapevine stem are filled with leaves, grape clusters, and the principal element of an openwork vase or basekt. The vase, birds, leaves and grape clusters are chisel-cut individually from a gold sheet, the vase has additional pierced details.
ProvenanceMay 9, 1987, sold by Acanthus, New York, to Mary B. Comstock (b. 1934), Brookline, MA; 1987, gift of Mary B. Comstock to the MFA. (Accession Date: May 27, 1987)