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Ring engraved with a lion and a bear

Byzantine
Early Byzantine Period
6th–7th century
Place of Manufacture: East Mediterranean

Medium/Technique Silver
Dimensions Width: 2.4 cm (15/16 in.)
Credit Line Gift of Mrs. Claude-Claire Grenier
Accession Number2005.291
ClassificationsJewelry / AdornmentRings
Lions and bears, such as those engraved on opposite sides of the reversible octagonal bezel of this silver ring, were among the most popular animals featured in the staged hunts and animal fights held in Roman amphitheaters. Both the striding lion and the skulking bear are labeled with the Greek words for these animals; the letters appear in mirror image on the ring itself but would have read correctly in an impression made when either side of the bezel was used as a seal. The invocation around the edge of the bezel reads, "Grace and Victory to the wearer!" and inscribed around the ring's hoop is the enigmatic phrase "I entered alone, received grace and was victorious." The imagery of the lion and bear and the emphasis on personal victory suggest the possibility that the ring's owner was a professional wild beast hunter (the size of the hoop and the masculine gender of the word "wearer" make clear that the owner was male). Given the Greek inscription, the wearer may have lived and worked in the eastern part of the Roman Empire.

While personal items in antiquity frequently carried simple inscriptions expressing favorable wishes for their wearers, this ring is exceptionally inventive and communicative, seeming to convey a personalized message. In addition to the associations with animal fights and amphitheaters, it is plausible that the use of the word "grace" and the allusions to victory had a Christian cast, invoking divine support for the wearer's salvation. Another possible interpretation is that the bear and lion allude to solar constellations of personal astrological significance, perhaps referring to birth dates or other important life events, making the ring a special good-luck charm.

Catalogue Raisonné Highlights: Classical Art (MFA), p. 123.
DescriptionAn unusual ring with a reversible octagonal bezel engraved with a lion in profile walking along a groundline identifed in Greek as "Lion"; on the other side is a a bear in profile walking along a groundline identified in Greek as "Bear." There is a Greek inscription around the an inscription runs around the sides of the bezel that contains good wishes for the wearer. The hoop has a Greek inscription engraved as well. Each end of the hoop terminates in an open eye, joined to the flat octagonal bezel by means of projecting pins.
Inscriptionsinscribed on hoop and bezel
ProvenanceSold by Eliezar Yelushalmi, Israel, to a private collector [see note 1]; December 9, 2004, anonymous sale, Christie's, New York, lot 176, to Claude-Claire Grenier; 2005, gift of Claude-Claire Grenier to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 22, 2005)

NOTES
[1] Eliezar Yelushalmi was said to have been in his 80s at the time of the sale.