Object Description
Ca. AD 800
A Byzantine silver ring with a flat-section hoop and an intricate, almond-shaped bezel decorated with spiral motifs, hatching, and tripartite dots. The outline of the bezel is decorated with an outline band of incisions, framed by the scalloped edges of the bezel.
The Byzantine Empire lasted for more than 1,100 years from the founding of its capital, Constantinople (modern Istanbul, Turkey), in AD 330 to the conquest of the city by the Ottoman Turks in AD 1453. This ring dates from the start of the Middle Byzantine Period (AD 843-1261) the second golden age of the Empire brought about by economic revival, which ended with the Crusades.
Size: D:18.75mm / US:8 3/4 / UK:R ; 10.84g