Ring

1 of 1

Artist
Name	Unknown
Basic Info
Alternative Title	Finger Ring
Period	Orientalizing period
Created in	Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe, Etruria
Century	8th-6th century BCE
Culture	Italic
Dimensions	0.8 x 3 cm (5/16 x 1 3/16 in.)
Harvard Museum
Department	Department of Ancient and Byzantine Art & Numismatics
Division	Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact	am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Context

The surface of this thick ring retains a polished finish. A raised ridge decorates the entire circumference of the exterior. The shape is slightly irregular.
 
The diameter and thickness of this ring preclude it having been worn as a finger ring. Rings of similar size and thickness were sometimes worn on fibulae as decoration (1).
 
NOTES:
 
1. See F. Jurgeit, Die etruskischen und italischen Bronzen sowie Gegenstände aus Eisen, Blei, und Leder im Badischen Landesmuseum Karlsruhe, Terra Italia 5 (Pisa, 1999) 609, nos. 1054-56, pl. 282. For two fibulae joined by chains with two amber rings on the larger fibula that are similar to the Harvard copper alloy ring, see J. M. Turfa, Catalogue of the Etruscan Gallery of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (Philadelphia, 2005) 88-89, no. 11.
 
Lisa M. Anderson

TechnicalDetails

Technical Observations

The patina is green with areas of red and brown. Several areas of the surface perfectly preserve the original condition of the metal. Surface loss to considerable depth has occurred in other areas.
 
The ring is a solid cast from a wax model. The perfectly uniform shape and the precise, raised band on the outer edge point to the use of a mold to make the model. The raised band is 1.5 mm wide and 0.3 mm high. Some areas show wear.
 
Henry Lie (submitted 2012)

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Transfer from the Alice Corinne McDaniel Collection, Department of the Classics, Harvard University