Seal Ring with the Name of Hajji Muhammad ibn Mahmud

Silver Ring

This niello-inlaid, partially gilded silver ring is a striking materialization of images of rings worn on the fourth finger by men in many fifteenth- and early sixteenth-century Persian miniatures; in addition, the stylistic similarity to ring no. 12.224.6, including the sealstone type, reinforces the probability that both rings are of the same period.

[Jenkins and Keene 1983]
































　

　


Seal Finger Ring

The lapis lazuli setting of this ring is inscribed in Persian with the name of Hajji Muhammad ibn Mahmud. The deep blue of the sealstone is set against the subtly contrasting colors of the silver band and the gilt decoration in guilloche pattern. Scroll designs in niello on the sides of the hoop and a gilt rosette at the base complete the ring.

Silver rings of this type were used as seals and were often worn by men on their fourth finger as witnessed in many Persian paintings of the sixtheenth century.

Sussan Babaie in [Walker et al. 1994]

Inscription: Inscribed with the name Hajji Muhammad ibn Mahmud

William Gedney Beatty (American), New York (until d. 1941; bequeathed to MMA)

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Islamic Jewelry in The Metropolitan Museum of Art," April 22–August 14, 1983, no. 56b.

Mexico City. Colegio de San Ildefonso. "Arte Islámico del Museo Metropolitano de Arte de Nueva York," September 30, 1994–January 8, 1995, no. 105.

Jenkins-Madina, Marilyn, and Manuel Keene. Islamic Jewelry in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1983. no. 56b, pp. 99–100, ill. (b/w).

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Daniel S. Walker, Arturo Ponce Guadián, Sussan Babaie, Stefano Carboni, Aimee Froom, Marie Lukens Swietochowski, Tomoko Masuya, Annie Christine Daskalakis-Matthews, Abdallah Kahli, and Rochelle Kessler. "Colegio de San Ildefonso, Septiembre de 1994–Enero de 1995." In Arte Islámico del Museo Metropolitano de Arte de Nueva York. Mexico City: Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, 1994. no. 105, pp. 254–55, ill. (b/w).