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Ring

11th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Nielloed gold signet ring, the oval bezel engraved with a Greek inscription meaning Lord, help Thy servant Nicetas captain of the imperial guard.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Engraved and nielloed gold
Brief description
Nielloed gold signet ring, the oval bezel engraved with a Greek inscription meaning Lord, help Thy servant Nicetas captain of the imperial guard, Byzantine, 11th century
Physical description
Nielloed gold signet ring, the oval bezel engraved with a Greek inscription meaning Lord, help Thy servant Nicetas captain of the imperial guard.
Dimensions
  • Height: 2.5cm
  • Width: 2.4cm
  • Depth: 1.3cm
Style
Marks and inscriptions
Greek inscription
Translation
'Lord, help Thy servant Nicetas captain of the imperial guard'
Credit line
Presented by Art Fund
Object history
Ex Guilhou Collection. Described in the Sotheby's catalogue of the 1937 sale as 'A ring ring in good condition...the oval bezel bears the retrograde inscription...(Lord help thy servant Nicetas, twice first swordsman (?)' within a nicked border, Byzantine, presumably the ring of a prominent gladiator.'
Subject depicted
Bibliographic references
  • Catalogue of the superb collection of rings, including choice examples of all periods from the Egypt of the Pharaohs to the France of Napoleon I, formed by the late Monsieur E. Guilhou of Paris, Sotheby and Co, November 1937, London, cat. 453, plate XV
  • Hostetler, B. 'Dressed to impress: signet rings in the middle Byzantine period'. Byzantinische Zeitschrift, vol. 117, no. 3 (2024), pp. 625-42.
Collection
Accession number
M.173-1937

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Record createdAugust 2, 2006
Record URL
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