Dumbarton Oaks - Signet Key Ring

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Photo Credit: © Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, D.C. Photography by Neil Greentree.

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Signet Key Ring

Byzantine
7th century - 8th century
2.5 x 2 cm (1 x 13/16 in.)
gold with niello
BZ.1958.19

Not on view

Permalink: http://museum.doaks.org/objects-1/info/27466

Additional Images

bezel view

Video of 3D rendering

Side view

From below

Bezel

Description

This is a pendant seal, which might have been worn as a ring. The hoop is triangular in section; its inner surface is plain, while the two outer surfaces are each decorated with a rinceau in niello. The hoop tapers toward the back where there is place for a chain, or other means of suspension, with a row of gold globules on each side. The bezel is a flat cylinder, engraved with an elaborate monogram.

Bibliography

M. Ross, Catalogue of the Byzantine and Early Mediaeval Antiquities in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection, Vol. II: Jewelry, Enamels and Art of the Migration Period (Washington, DC, 1965), no. 109 and pl. LIX.

G. Vikan and J. Nesbitt, Security in Byzantium: Locking, Sealing and Weighing (Washington, DC, 1980), 5.

Exhibition History

Washington, DC. Dumbarton Oaks, 75 Years/75 Objects: Celebrating 75 Years of the Dumbarton Oaks Museum, September 8, 2015 - May 22, 2016.

Washington, DC, Dumbarton Oaks, Rich in Blessings: Wealth and the Late Antique Household, November 17, 2023 - June 9, 2024.

Acquisition History

Said to have been found in Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey). Findspot unknown.

Purchased from George Zacos (1911-1983), Istanbul, 1958;

Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Byzantine Collection, Washington, DC

Related Objects

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Grooved Turning Key Bit Belonging to a Seal Ring (The Menil Collection, Houston X 734)
Loan.BZ.2000.001

Object Last Modified: 8/15/2024