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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1953.83
Title
Finger Ring with the Head of a Woman in Relief
Other Titles
Former Title: Ring with Head of a Woman (Probably Berenike II, Wife of Ptolemy III, Euergetes)
Classification
Jewelry
Work Type
ring
Date
3rd century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe
Period
Hellenistic period
Culture
Greek
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/287677

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Leaded bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
2.3 x 2 x 2.4 cm (7/8 x 13/16 x 15/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Bronze:
Cu, 69.54; Sn, 25.14; Pb, 5.03; Zn, 0.009; Fe, 0.07; Ni, 0.02; Ag, 0.02; Sb, less than 0.05; As, 0.16; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, 0.015; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The surface of 1953.83 is worn and exhibits a dark brown patina, with spots of green and red. It was cast in one piece. The hoop of the ring has been broken and repaired with modern solder. There are cracks in the side of the bezel behind the head and neck and opposite the nose, and there is a gash in the cheek of the woman.

All four rings have lost some detail from corrosion and wear, with 1986.541 showing considerable loss of detail. All are broken at the points where the front meets the ring. 1986.543 has no ring. 1986.541 has a modern lead repair, perhaps with the original ring, and 1953.83 also has a modern lead repair with what appears to be a section of a modern ring.

The rings appear to be cast with no clear evidence of cold work in the relief decoration. The relief on 1986.543 is slightly higher than the other two relief rings; 1986.542 is carved in intaglio.


Henry Lie (submitted 2001)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Mr. Robert T. Paine, Jr.
Accession Year
1953
Object Number
1953.83
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
The ring is in the form of a plain hoop, rounded on the exterior, with projecting oval bezel. On the bezel is a relief portrait bust of a woman shown in proper left profile view. She has a melon coiffure and wears a diadem and earring. The upper part of her garment is rendered. Given the ring’s worn state and mediocre execution, the identity of the figure is not secure. A Ptolemaic queen such as Arsinoe II, wife of Ptolemy II, Philadelphus (r. 285-246 BCE) or Berenike II, wife of Ptolemy III, Euergetes (r. 246-222 BCE) may be represented (1). Alternatively, the woman may be a more generic representation deriving from Ptolemaic royal portraiture. Similar rings have been found in Egypt and as far afield as the Black Sea region, where they have been identified as imports related to the propagation of the cult of the Ptolemies (2).

NOTES:

1. See D. Plantzos, Hellenistic Engraved Gems (Oxford, 1999) 48.

2. See O. Neverov, “Les bagues hellénistiques de la collection du Musée de l’Ermitage,” in I Bronzi Antichi: Produzione e tecnologia. Atti del XV Congresso Internazionale sui Bronzi Antichi, Udine, maggio 2001, ed. A. Giumlia Mair (Montagnac, 2002) 157.


Seán Hemingway

Publication History

  • George M. A. Hanfmann, "Acquisitions of the Fogg Art Museum: Sculpture and Figurines", American Journal of Archaeology (1954), Vol. 58, No. 3, 223-229, p. 229, pl. 40, fig. 20.

Subjects and Contexts

  • Ancient Bronzes

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu