This gold ring is cast and engraved with an exceptional number of figures, representing frontal heads and harpies. Harpies become a common representation in Islamic art from the second half of the 11th century, and only for a period of about two centuries, in all the regions from Central Asia to Anatolia ruled by dynasties of Turkic origins, such as the Ghaznavids and the Seljuqs. As human-headed birds, they have a hybrid nature, and were thought to have had protective and magical powers. They might also have an astrological significance, as symbolic depiction of the sign Gemini. Rings with appliqués and hexagonal bezels, as this one, are considered to have slowly disappeared in the 13th century.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Ring
Date:12th–13th century
Geography:Attributed to Iran
Medium:Gold; cast, engraved, granulation
Dimensions:Band: Diam. 7/8 in. (2.2 cm) Th. 3/8 in. ( 1 cm) Gr. W. 3/16 in. (0.5 cm) Sm. W. 1/8 in. (0.3 cm) BezeL. H. 1/4 in. (0.6 cm) W. 11/16 in. (1.7 cm)
Classification:Jewelry
Credit Line:Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Everett Birch, 1976
Accession Number:1976.405
Gold Ring
It would seem that the type of ring exemplified by this ring did not come into vogue in the Islamic world until the second half of the twelfth century. Once introduced, however, it enjoyed great popularity and variety. The most essential features of this ring type are a cast shank—often with anthropomorphic terminals—and a polygonal bezel. Its prototypes are to be found in Greek as well as Roman rings.[1] This ring is a particularly fine example, with four of the six corners of the bezel decorated with human heads, the crown consisting of a repeating geometric pattern executed in openwork filigree and granulation, and the shank bearing harpies and terminating in double-bodied harpies. The three other known examples of this type are in the Metropolitan Museum (MMA 48.154.10), the L. A. Mayer Memorial Institute for Islamic Art, Jerusalem (J9468), and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (65.254). Although not as elaborate as the present example, many rings of a related type were found in the Russian excavations mentioned earlier, whose finds are placed between the 1170s and 1240.[2]
[Jenkins and Keene 1983]
Footnotes:
1. Marshall, F. H. Catalogue of the Finger Rings, Greek, Etruscan and Roman, in the Department of Antiquities. The British Museum, London, 1907, fig. 61, pl. XVI.
2. E.g., Korzukhina, G. F. Russkie Kindy IX–Xlllvv. Moscow, 1954, pls. XXX VII, XXXVIII, XLV.
Mr. and Mrs. Everett B. Birch, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands (until 1976; gifted to MMA)
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Islamic Jewelry in The Metropolitan Museum of Art," April 22–August 14, 1983, no. 31.
New York. Forbes Galleries. "Masterpieces of Ancient Jewelry: Exquisite Jeweled Objects from the Cradle of Civilization," September 22, 2008–December 31, 2008, p. 102.
Chicago. Field Museum of Natural History. "Masterpieces of Ancient Jewelry: Exquisite Jeweled Objects from the Cradle of Civilization," February 13, 2009–June 14, 2009, p. 102.
Paris. Institut du Monde Arabe. "Masterpieces of Ancient Jewelry: Exquisite Jeweled Objects from the Cradle of Civilization," April 19, 2010–July 25, 2010, p. 102.
Ettinghausen, Richard. Archives of Asian Art. vol. XXXI (1977–1978). p. 139.
Jenkins-Madina, Marilyn, and Manuel Keene. Islamic Jewelry in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1983. no. 31, p. 62, ill. (b/w).
Price, Judith. "Exquisite Objects from the Cradle of Civilization." In Masterpieces of Ancient Jewelry. Philadelphia; London, 2008. p. 102, ill. (color).
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