What are the origins of the imagery and designs on common jewelry and portable artwork between late antiquity and the Middle Ages? These dynamic centuries encompass the transformation of the Greco-Roman world into the nascent kingdoms and medieval states upon which most modern European nations are based. But the choices of jewelry and other forms of personal expression amongst the lower classes in ancient times is notoriously difficult to contextualize for a number of reasons. Nonetheless, these precious articles were expressions of individual identity as well as signifiers of one's rites of passage. As such, they reflect not only the people who wore them, but also the social milieu and artistic trends impacting their lives at that moment in time. This new study assists in identifying the types, origins and routes of transmission of personal artwork, particularly finger rings, across Europe and Byzantium from late antiquity to the late middle ages, an area of study that has been neglected in previous works. Some of this material represents the first time relevant research from Central and Eastern Europe has been translated and made available to the general reader in the English speaking world.

This comprehensive guide fills a critical void in the available literature regarding ancient finger rings comprised of base metals and low grade silver alloy. Increasingly, these modest relics of times past are being unearthed and sold through a growing assortment of worldwide venues. Unfortunately, the accompanying descriptions are often inaccurate and unreliable in the extreme. To date, the available reference material for researchers and collectors has been almost entirely restricted to the historic and "high end" pieces of the past, i.e., the gold and precious stones of royalty and the very wealthy. The public has had next to nothing with which to evaluate these common rings. This guide not only examines the physical structure of these pieces, but also the images and symbols which are such important elements of these ancient artifacts. As such, this book is an invaluable guide not only for merchants and collectors, but also researchers, students and educators regarding the types of ancient rings so conspicuously missing in the available literature.