On loan to The Met The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.

Gemstone Ring

Byzantine

Not on view

The maker of this ring went to great lengths to showcase the large, aquamarine gem. The bezel projects boldly upward to highlight the icy color of the stone, which is cushion cut, a technique with roots in the Roman world. The pronged setting, which holds the stone in place, was widely used between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries, but eventually dropped out of fashion. The gadrooned sides of the bezel have been worked with granulated gold, a technique used through the early medieval period, but which was lost in the later Middle Ages.

Gemstone Ring, Gold, aquamarine, pearl, Byzantine

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Photo by Richard Goodbody, Inc.