Group of 2 Byzantine Rings | Bone + Bronze

Eastern Mediterranean, Byzantine Empire. A pair of Byzantine finger rings, one of lead alloy and one carved from animal bone. The metal example carries an oval bezel engraved with a long-necked bird standing on a ground line, turned toward a small striated vessel or basket, perhaps a kantharos. Two loop-headed crosses flank the scene and read as staurograms or Chi-Rho variants, while an exergual motif below the ground line may be a fish or a palm frond. Greek letters run along the upper edge of the field, likely an abbreviated invocation or owner's name. The bird approaching a vessel is a long-lived eucharistic image of the soul drinking from the fountain of life. The companion ring is turned from bone, its flattened bezel and shoulders incised with concentric target motifs. The staurogram (the tau-rho ligature) and the Chi-Rho were among the earliest Christian abbreviations of the name and cross of Christ, appearing in papyri by the third century and spreading across seals, lamps, textiles, and personal jewelry throughout the Byzantine world. Their presence on a modest ring is a reminder that devotional imagery circulated at every social level, not only in the metalwork of the court. Birds flanking or approaching a vessel form one of the most durable motifs in late antique and Byzantine art, familiar from floor mosaics, sarcophagi, and catacomb painting. The image draws on Psalm 42, the hart panting for flowing streams, reinterpreted as doves or peacocks at the fountain of life, and by extension as the faithful soul at the eucharistic chalice. Cast or engraved rings of this type served as personal seals as much as adornment, pressing an identity and a confession of faith into wax in a single gesture. Please note that the lead alloy ring contains up to 66.7% lead and is not recommended for wear. Item # 204916

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