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Early Medieval silver ring with Arabic inscription

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    Posted 9 years ago

    BelleEpoque
    (98 items)

    I got this little ring at an antiques market. It is made of a silver alloy. When I bought it, it was so dirty that the inscription was not even visible. Once cleaned the writing was revealed, which made it really interesting.
    Somebody once translated it for me. It is in ancient Arabic script, and it is a sort of ‘memento mori’. It reads something like “good fortune does not last forever”.
    It dates back to the early medieval period, roughly 6th to 13th centuries, and it probably originated somewhere in the Byzantine Empire. Condition is fine for its age, and I do wear it occasionally.

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    Comments

    1. kyratango kyratango, 9 years ago
      Wow, what a find! fantastic you got the translation :-)
    2. blunderbuss2 blunderbuss2, 9 years ago
      Great piece! Thanks for sharing.
    3. BelleEpoque BelleEpoque, 9 years ago
      Thanx, kyra and blunderbuss, and everyone else!
    4. Peasejean55 Peasejean55, 9 years ago
      Great piece of history, love it.
    5. scottvez scottvez, 9 years ago
      Interesting ring!

      What about the ring gives you the dating?

      scott
    6. BelleEpoque BelleEpoque, 9 years ago
      Hi Scott, the shape and inscription are indicative of age. Here a very good resource on early Islamic jewellery: https://books.google.nl/books?id=5c9NoOBf2Q4C&printsec=frontcover&hl=nl#v=onepage&q&f=false
    7. Efesgirl Efesgirl, 9 years ago
      BelleEpoque, would you please take a look at a pendant I have on my page? It is rather unusual and carries a Dutch sword hallmark (post 1953) and a foreign mark. I've collected jewelry for decades but have not seen this sort of pendant design before. I'm in the Netherlands. Thanks!

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