Lot 884
Gem with a Phoenician inscription (mid-1st millennium B.C.), set in an antique-style Safavid silver ring (17th – early 18th centuries)
Works of Art, Antiquities & Ancient Art | A109kua | Live auction | 1190 Lots
Description
Oval chalcedony gem with bevelled border. Enclosed by an oval front near the border, a two-line mirror-image inscription in the Phoenician alphabet, the lines separated by a horizontal front. The gem later set during Safavid time in a silver ring. The ring plate slightly domed on the bottom, above it a steep-walled, tall, slightly conically tapering socket decorated with two horizontal rows of punched marks. Simple punch decoration also on the bottom of the ring plate and on the shoulder of the ring. The 4 mm wide ring shank even on the inside and slightly domed on the outside. On the bottom of the ring shank the typical knob for rings of this period only weakly pronounced. The technical edition and decoration suggest a later date within the Safavid era (16th – early 18th century). Inner ring diameter: 22mm, total weight: 7.8 gr. CULTURAL ASSET!Provenance: A private collection in southern Germany, from the estate of the collector’s grandfather. The works were purchased by him at art fairs and in galleries between the 1980s and 1990s.
Condition: II + Questions about the lot?
