Item description
- Object: Gold Ring with oval openwork cloisonné bezel and granulated border
- Date: 6th - 7th century AD
- Origin: northern Black Sea
- Culture:Bulgar or early Khazar
- Dimensions: 3.9 x 3.5 cm
- Weight: 30.8 g
The ring takes the form of a large oval bezel composed of sheet gold on which there is a central oval setting surrounded by a row of granulation, a band of open S scrolls and an outer border of stacked granulation. The oval setting has a cruciform openwork frame and was originally set with flat red glass imitating garnets, now mostly missing. The hoop is a broad band of sheet gold flaring slightly at the ends where it is soldered to the back of the bezel. There are two incised Xs on the hoop ends, perhaps s maker's mark.
The ring is composed of numerous separate components, neatly soldered together. The border of S scrolls was made from sturdy strips of gold, as shown in the photo right. Where a granule is missing, a small tab can be seen which is a minute meniscus from the soldering. The soldering technique used here is what is termed diffusion soldering. In this technique, a copperbased soldering substance was employed that was made with copper acetate (from the reaction of copper and vinegar), ground malachite (natural copper carbonate) or a similar copper compound, mixed with organic glue. The components were stuck in position with this sticky soldering mixture and then the whole piece heated. The heat causes the organic glue to burn to carbon and then in the presence of the carbon the copper compound reduces to metallic copper which alloys with, and diffuses into, the surrounding gold to produce a good but unobtrusive joint. This was the usual method for joining gold jewellery components in antiquity. In summary the ring is made in the way expected of the period.
The style of the ring is in keeping with jewellery produced on the northern shores of the Black Sea in the sixth and seventh centuries AD. This ring is a 6th- or 7th-century development from a type made initially the mid and second half of the fifth century. The earliest examples are found primarily in southern Russian and eastern European but the form was quickly taken up by Merovingian goldsmiths and in western Europe such rings are found in graves dating from the late 5th through the 6th century. On these the inlays are invariably garnet, in some cases with central glass inlays. The use of a strip hoop with butted ends behind the large bezel is typical of all of these rings. None of these earlier rings approach the size and weight of this example and none carry granulation.
Cloisonné bands with a yin-yang pattern appear on gold ornaments made in the middle decades of the sixth century, such as the kolty from Michaelsfeld (Džiginskoe, near Anapa in the Kuban delta, Krasnodar krai). The use of stacked rows of granulation to create a three-dimensional effect is also a feature of the Michaelsfeld kolty. (Later kolt retain the granules but more commonly arranged in a single plane.) The compression of the scrolls on the ring, however, and the use of glass inlays rather than garnet, suggests the ring may be later in date.
The mosaic-style pattern of a lozenge contained within a circle such as that found in the center of this ring is a motif found on jewellery of the late 5th and early 6th century; it also appears on high status ornaments made in the middle decades of the 7th century. This pattern, as on the ring, was often executed in Class III cloisonné where the cellwork never touches the backing plate and later examples often incorporate broad strips of metal rather than thin cells. Circular discs with this pattern (with simple individual rows of granulation) were excavated to either side of the head of an adult male in burial 2-8 at Sukhanovo (Berislav district, Kherson Oblast), and can also be seen on the centerpiece of the elaborate gold necklace which was a part of Glodosy find, in Kirovograd Oblast. Whereas the first find is related to the period of the Bulgars domination in the North Pontic steppes, in the 6th century, the latest is usually considered to be of the early Khazar period, late-7th century.
The presence of these discs in a male burial raises the possibility that the present ring belonged to a man. Cloisonné discs with the same mosaic pattern said to have been found with this ring were worn as garment clasps and are of much higher quality than the Sukhanovo examples. A male grave would also be in keeping with the tabular strap ends and cloverleaf and heart-shaped belt mounts in glass cloisonné found with the ring. Strap ends with the same palmette pattern in cloisonné were amongst a 6th century group of gold and glass strap tabs from Kerč, now in the Hermitage.
Analyses were carried out on various surfaces of the object using portable x-ray fluorescence analysis. The results were as follows:
| Gold | Silver | Copper |
|---|---|---|
| 76.81% | 18.66% | 4.34% |
No other elements were detected with certainty at levels resolvable by the equipment. Overall purity and the silver to copper ratio are consistent with an ancient origin and no elements were detected that would cast any doubt on the authenticity of the object.