AD300 Roman Carthage (Tunisia) Sz5½ Ring + 19thC Antique 2ct Russian Unakite Gem

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Seller: Top-Rated Seller ancientgifts ✉️ (5,440) 100%, Location: Lummi Island, Washington, US, Ships to: WORLDWIDE, Item: 383995488330 AD300 Roman Carthage (Tunisia) Sz5½ Ring + 19thC Antique 2ct Russian Unakite Gem.

Very Elegant Genuine Ancient Circa 300 A.D. Roman Bronze Gemstone Ring Size 5 1/2.

CLASSIFICATION: Ancient Roman Bronze Ring. Antique Handcrafted Nineteenth Century Two Carat Unakite Semi-Precious Gemstone.

ATTRIBUTION: Roman Provincial Africa - Carthage (present-day Tunisia), Third or Fourth Century A.D.

SIZE/MEASUREMENTS: Fits ring size 5 1/2 (U.S.).

Diameter: 18mm (outer dimensions excluding gemstone); 16 1/2mm (inner diameter).

Bezel: 8mm (breadth) * 8 1/2mm (height) * 1 1/2mm (thickness), excluding gemstone.

Gemstone: 8mm (diameter) * 3 1/2mm (thickness). 1.91 carats (approximate weight).

Tapered Width Band: 6mm (at bezel) * 3 1/2mm (at sides) * 2mm (at back).

Weight: 1.16 grams (without gemstone).

CONDITION: Very good! Completely intact, heavy wear consistent with sustained (ancient) usage, very light (surface pitting caused by contact with earth while buried). Professionally conserved.

DETAIL: A handsome, nicely constructed Roman bronze ring with a raised platform, six-sided bezel which at one time would have been engraved. However the ring was worn for such an extended period of time that though the ring is entirely intact and its integrity undiminished, nonetheless whatever engraved design it once bore was worn smooth. It is quite likely that the ring was worn most of a lifetime, as it would take most of a life time to wear an engraved bezel smooth. In fact the extent of the wear is significant enough that it suggests that the ring might have been worn during the lifetime of more than one owner. Perhaps it was a family heirloom handed down between generations.

Though the ring was not originally produced to hold a gemstone, the large, flat bezel seemed to invite a gemstone. So we mounted a large, natural, antique, handcrafted Siberian Unakite semi-precious gemstone using jeweler’s epoxy. The gemstone is quite secure, but if you at time in the future wished to remove it, this could easily be accomplished using some thinner or nail polish remover. The unakite gemstone is from the Ural Mountains of Russia, and was handcrafted by a 19th century Russian artisan, part of an heritage renown for the production of the elaborate gemstones and jewelry of the Czars of Medieval, Renaissance, and Victorian Russia.

It is truly a very rich and colorful gemstone, popular throughout Europe for a number of centuries. It is believed that the source for unakite in the ancient world was Switzerland, though there’s evidence that the gemstone might also have been produced in Russia in the ancient world. Though the gemstone is not as old as the ring, given the fact that many cultures of the classical Mediterranean world utilized unakite in their jewelry, and that the gemstone in itself is historically significant, it seemed an appropriate gemstone to enhance this ring’s beauty, a choice which preserves cultural continuity. Though the ring was produced in the late Roman/early Byzantine world, it was nonetheless produced using a more archaic technique whereby it was assembled from two pieces; an incomplete ring (a “shank”) with a separately crafted bezel which was brazed to the shank in order to assemble the ring.

This was in contrast to the more “modern” style of construction which became prevalent in the first few centuries A.D. whereby the bands and bezel are integrated (fashioned from a single piece of metal). Fate has been kind to this ring. The fact that the ring evidences a moderate degree of “all-over” wear from ancient usage should not, however, be a source of disappointment. You must keep in mind that the ring was produced by an artisan and sold to a patron or consumer with the idea that the ring would be enjoyed and worn by the purchased. And without any regard to twenty-first century posterity, that precisely what happened! The original Roman owner of this ring wore it, enjoyed it, and probably never could have in his most delusional moment ever dreamed that almost 100 generations later the ring would still exist.

It should likewise come as no surprise that also detectable are the telltale signs that the ring spent thousands of years in the soil. Porosity is fine surface pitting (oxidation, corrosion) caused by extended burial in caustic soil. Many small ancient metal artifacts such as this are extensively disfigured and suffer substantial degradation as a consequence of the ordeal of being buried for millennia. It is not at all unusual to find metal artifacts decomposed to the point where they are not much more substantial than discolored patterns in the soil. Actually most smaller ancient artifacts such as this are so badly oxidized that oftentimes all that is left is a green (bronze) or red (iron) stain in the soil, or an artifact which crumbles in your hand.

However this specimen is not so heavily afflicted, and certainly has not been disfigured. To the casual admirer, it simply looks like an ancient ring, nicely surfaced, no immediately discernible blemishes. You have to look very closely to detect the telltale signs indicating the ring was buried for millennia. No denying, there is oxidation, as if you examine the ring in a jeweler’s loupe, or if you examine these photo enlargements closely, you can clearly see the evidence of porosity (corrosion, fine surface pitting). However the extent is very mild. This ring spent almost 2,000 years buried, yet by good fortune there is only a very modest degree of porosity evidenced. It happened to come to rest in very gentle soil conditions. Consequentially, the integrity of the artifact remains undiminished, and despite the slight porosity, the ring remains quite handsome, and entirely wearable.

The ring’s overall integrity is relatively undiminished by the passage of time, and it has been professionally conserved. The ring is quite sturdy, beautifully toned with a medium golden color very characteristic of ancient bronze, and quite handsome. The Romans were of course very fond of ornate personal jewelry including bracelets worn both on the forearm and upper arm, brooches, pendants, hair pins, earrings intricate fibulae and belt buckles, and of course, rings. This is an exceptional piece of Roman jewelry, a very handsome artifact, and eminently wearable. Aside from being significant to the history of ancient jewelry, it is also an evocative RELIC of one of the world’s greatest civilizations and than ancient world’s most significant military machine; the glory and light which was known as the “Roman Empire”.

ANCIENT ROMAN HISTORY: One of the greatest civilizations of recorded history was the ancient Roman Empire. The Roman civilization, in relative terms the greatest military power in the history of the world, was founded in the 8th century (B.C.) on seven hills alongside Italy’s Tiber River. By the 4th Century (B.C.) the Romans were the dominant power on the Italian Peninsula, having defeated the Etruscans, Celts, Latins, and Greek Italian colonies. In the 3rd Century (B.C.) the Romans conquered Sicily, and in the following century defeated Carthage, and controlled Greece.

Throughout the remainder of the 2nd Century (B.C.) the Roman Empire continued its gradual conquest of the Hellenistic (Greek Colonial) World by conquering Syria and Macedonia; and finally came to control Egypt and much of the Near East and Levant (Holy Land) in the 1st Century (B.C.). The pinnacle of Roman power was achieved in the 1st Century (A.D.) as Rome conquered much of Britain and Western Europe.

At its peak, the Roman Empire stretched from Britain in the West, throughout most of Western, Central, and Eastern Europe, and into Asia Minor. For a brief time, the era of “Pax Romana”, a time of peace and consolidation reigned. Civilian emperors were the rule, and the culture flourished with a great deal of liberty enjoyed by the average Roman Citizen. However within 200 years the Roman Empire was in a state of steady decay, attacked by Germans, Goths, and Persians. The decline was temporarily halted by third century Emperor Diocletian.

In the 4th Century (A.D.) the Roman Empire was split between East and West. The Great Emperor Constantine again managed to temporarily arrest the decay of the Empire, but within a hundred years after his death the Persians captured Mesopotamia, Vandals infiltrated Gaul and Spain, and the Goths even sacked Rome itself. Most historians date the end of the Western Roman Empire to 476 (A.D.) when Emperor Romulus Augustus was deposed. However the Eastern Roman Empire (The Byzantine Empire) survived until the fall of Constantinople in 1453 A.D.

In the ancient world valuables such as coins and jewelry were commonly buried for safekeeping, and inevitably the owners would succumb to one of the many perils of the ancient world. Oftentimes the survivors of these individuals did not know where the valuables had been buried, and today, thousands of years later (occasionally massive) caches of coins and rings are still commonly uncovered throughout Europe and Asia Minor.

Throughout history these treasures have been inadvertently discovered by farmers in their fields, uncovered by erosion, and the target of unsystematic searches by treasure seekers. With the introduction of metal detectors and other modern technologies to Eastern Europe in the past three or four decades, an amazing number of new finds are seeing the light of day thousands of years after they were originally hidden by their past owners. And with the liberalization of post-Soviet Eastern Europe, new sources have opened eager to share in these ancient treasures.

HISTORY OF UNAKITE: Unakite has been used in ornamental stone work for centuries in Europe, particularly in Switzerland and Russia. There is evidence that a site in Switzerland was a source in the ancient world. In the United States unakite was first “discovered” in North Carolina, and was named for the Unakas Mountains where it was found. Unakite is also found as pebbles and cobbles from glacial drift in the beach rock on the shores of Lake Superior. It is the state stone of Virginia, where it is found in the river valleys after having been washed down from the Blue Ridge Mountains. Unakite is also found in South Africa, many European countries including Switzerland and Russia, as well as Brazil, and China.

Unakite is an altered granite composed of pink orthoclase feldspar, green epidote, and relatively clear quartz. It exists in various shades of green and salmon-pink and is usually mottled in appearance. Good quality unakite is considered a semiprecious stone, will take a good polish, and is often used in jewelry and other lapidary work such as eggs, spheres and other carvings. It is also referred to as epidotized granite. Epidote, one of the primary components of unakite, is a very uncommon but attractive, pistachio-green colored gemstone crystal. “Epidote” (from the Greek for "addition") is named after the numerous crystal faces it shows in its natural crystalline form. Transparent dark green crystals cut as gemstones look very similar to chrome diopside and chrome tourmaline (traces of the element chromium giving the distinctive green color of both gemstones).

Throughout the history of the ancient world, gemstones were believed capable of curing illness, possessed of valuable metaphysical properties, and to provide protection. Found in Egypt dated 1500 B. C., the "Papyrus Ebers" offered one of most complete therapeutic manuscripts containing prescriptions using gemstones and minerals. Gemstones were not only valued for their medicinal and protective properties, but also for educational and spiritual enhancement. Though specific references to unakite in the ancient world are sparse, it is known that unakite was long favored in Medieval Europe as a healing stone, believed to have powerful balancing properties, and was also believed to enhance psychic abilities.

Modern practitioners believe that unakite allows people to concentrate on the present rather than dwelling on past negative events. It is also thought by some to bring clarity and aid in decision making. Advocates also suggest that unakite can help find love, aid in recuperation from illnesses, and help maintain a healthy pregnancy. It is believed to beneficially affect the digestive and circulatory system, particularly the heart, and is also believed helpful for those who have cysts or tumors.

Unakite is also used to aid weight loss efforts, and is believed to benefit the human reproductive system (especially so for women), enhancing fertility. It is also believed useful in balancing out the negative “electromagnetic pollution” caused by televisions, computers, and computer monitors. Unakite is also considered therapeutic for those suffering a “broken heart”, those who feel trapped in grief and find it difficult to move on, and those who are unable to comfort others, or are uncomfortable receiving comfort from others.

HISTORY OF BRONZE: Bronze is the name given to a wide range of alloys of copper, typically mixed in ancient times with zinc, tin, lead, or arsenic. The discovery of bronze enabled people to create metal objects which were better than previously possible. Tools, weapons, armor, and building materials made of bronze were harder and more durable than their stone and copper predecessors from the “Chalcolithic” (the “Copper Age”), i.e., about 7000-3500 B.C., and the Neolithic (“New Stone Age”), i.e. about 12000 to 7000 B.C.). Of particular practical significance were bronze agricultural implements, tools for cutting stone, and weapons.

On the other hand, of particular cultural significance was bronze statuary, particularly that of the Romans and Greeks. The ancient Greeks and Romans had a long history of making statuary in bronze. Literally thousands of images of gods and heroes, victorious athletes, statesmen, and philosophers filled temples and sanctuaries, and stood in the public areas of major cities. In fact, the Statue of Zeus at OLYMPIA and the Colossus of Rhodes are two of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Initially bronze was made out of copper and arsenic. It was only later that tin was used, becoming (except in ancient Egypt) the sole type of bronze in the late 3rd Millennium B.C. Tin-alloyed bronze was superior to arsenic-alloyed bronze in that the alloying process itself could more easily be controlled, the alloy was stronger and easier to cast, and unlike arsenic, tin is not toxic. Toxicity was a major factor in the production of arsenic bronze. Repeated exposure to arsenic fumes ultimately led to nerve damage in the limbs. Evidence of the long agony of Bronze Age metalsmiths came down to the ancient Greeks and Romans in the form of legend, as the Greek and Roman gods of metalsmiths, Greek Hephaestus and Roman Vulcan, were both lame.

In practice historical bronze alloys are highly variable in composition, as most metalworkers probably used whatever scrap was to hand. In one instance of ancient bronze from Britain, analysis showed the bronze to contain a mixture of copper, zinc, tin, lead, nickel, iron, antimony, arsenic, and silver. Other advantages of bronze over iron include that bronze better resists corrosion, particularly seawater corrosion; bronze resists metal fatigue better than iron; and bronze is a better heat conductor (and thus is better suited for cooking vessels). However ancient bronze, unless conserved properly, is susceptible to “bronze disease”, wherein hydrochloric or hydrosulfuric acid is formed due to impurities (cuprous chloride or sulfur) found within the ancient bronze.

Traditionally archaeology has maintained that the earliest bronze was produced by the Maikop, a proto-Indo-European, proto-Celtic culture of Caucasus prehistory around 3500 B.C. Recent evidence however suggests that the smelting of bronze might be as much as several thousand years older (bronze artifacts dating from about 4500 B.C. have been unearthed in Thailand). Shortly after the emergence of bronze technology in the Caucasus region, bronze technology emerged in ancient Mesopotamia (Sumer), Egypt, the Indus Valley Civilization of Northern India, the Aegean, the Caspian Steppes (Ukraine), the Southern Russia/Central Mongolia Region (the Altai Mountains), the Levant (Eastern Mediterranean), Anatolia (Turkey) and the Iranian Plateau. By the late third Millennium B.C. many Western European Bronze Age Cultures had emerged.

Some of the more notable were the Celtic cultures of Middle Europe stretching from Hungary to Poland and Germany, including the Urnfield, Lusatian, and (Iron Age Transitional) Hallstatt Cultures. The Shang in ancient China also developed a significant Bronze Age culture, noted for large bronze burial urns. The ancient Chinese were the first to cast bronze (using the “lost wax” technique) about 2200 B.C. Prior to that time all bronze items were forged. Though weapons and utilitarian items were produced in great numbers, the production of bronze in ancient China was especially noteworthy for ornamented ritualistic/religious vessels (urns, wine vessels, water pots, food containers, and musical instruments), many of immense size.

Britain’s Bronze Age cultures included the Beaker, Wessex, Deverl, and Rimbury. Copper and tin ores are rarely found together, so the production of bronze has always involved trade. Cornwall was one of the most significant sources of tin not only for Britain, but exported throughout the Mediterranean. Other significant suppliers of tine were the Taurus Mountains of Anatolia (Turkey), as well as Spain. Enormous amounts of copper was produced from the Great Orme mine in North Wales, the island of Cyprus, the European Alps, and from the Sinai Peninsula and other nearby sites in the Levant. Though much of the raw minerals may have come from Britain, Spain, Anatolia, and the Sinai, it was the Aegean world which controlled the trade in bronze. The great seafaring Minoan Empire (about 2700 to 1450 B.C.) appears to have controlled, coordinated, and defended the trade.

Tin and charcoal were imported into Cyprus, where locally mined copper was mined and alloyed with the tin from Britain. Indicative of the seafaring trade in the Eastern Mediterranean, a shipwreck from about 1300 B.C. off the Turkish coast revealed a ship carrying a ton of copper ingots, several dozen small tin ingots, new bronze tools, scrap metal, and a blacksmith's forge and tools (along with luxury trade goods from Africa). It appears that the Bronze Age collapsed with the fall of Minoan Empire, to be replaced by a Dark Age and the eventual rise of the Iron Age Myceneans (on mainland Greece). Evidence suggests that the precipitating event might have been the eruption of Thera (Santorini) and the ensuing tsunami, which was only about 40 miles north of Crete, the capital of the Minoan empire.

Some archaeologists argue that it was Santorini itself which was the capitol city of the Minoan World. However where Crete or Santorini, it is known that the bread-basket of the Minoan trading empire, the area north of the Black Sea lost population, and thereafter many Minoan colony/client-states lost large populations to extreme famines or pestilence. The end of the Bronze Age and the rise of the Iron Age is normally associated with the disturbances created by large population disruptions in the 12th century B.C. The end of the Bronze Age saw the emergence of new technologies and civilizations which included the large-scale production of iron (and limited scale production of steel).

Although iron was in many respects much inferior to bronze (and steel was inefficiently produced in very limited quantities), iron had the advantage that it could be produced using local resources during the dark ages that followed the Minoan collapse, and was very inexpensive when compared to the cost of producing bronze. Bronze was still a superior metal, resisting both corrosion and metal fatigue better than iron. And bronze was still used during the Iron Age, but for many purposes the weaker iron was sufficiently strong to serve in its place. As an example, Roman officers were equipped with bronze swords while foot soldiers had to make do with iron blades.

Pliny the Elder, the famous first century Roman historian and naturalist, wrote about the reuse of scrap bronze and copper in Roman foundries, noting that the metals were recast as armor, weapons or articles for personal use, such as bronze mirrors. The melting and recasting foundries were located at the Italian port city of Brindisi. Located on the Adriatic coast, Brindisi was the terminus of the great Appian Way, the Roman road constructed to facilitate trade and military access throughout the Italian part of the Roman Empire. The city was the gateway for Roman penetration into the eastern parts of her empire (Greece, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Black Sea Region, the Danubian Provinces, and eventually Mesopotamia).

ADDITIONAL PURCHASES do receive a VERY LARGE Your purchase will ordinarily be shipped within 48 hours of payment. We package as well as anyone in the business, with lots of protective padding and containers.

We do NOT recommend uninsured shipments, and expressly disclaim any responsibility for the loss of an uninsured shipment. Unfortunately the contents of parcels are easily “lost” or misdelivered by postal employees – even in the USA. If you intend to pay via PayPal, please be aware that PayPal Protection Policies REQUIRE insured, trackable shipments, which is INCLUDED in our price. International tracking is at additional cost. We do offer U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail, Registered Mail, and Express Mail for both international and domestic shipments, as well United Parcel Service (UPS) and Federal Express (Fed-Ex). Please ask for a rate quotation. We will accept whatever payment method you are most comfortable with. If upon receipt of the item you are disappointed for any reason whatever, I offer a no questions asked return policy.

Most of the items I offer come from the collection of a family friend who was active in the field of Archaeology for over forty years. However many of the items also come from purchases I make in Eastern Europe, India, and from the Levant (Eastern Mediterranean/Near East) from various institutions and dealers. Though I have always had an interest in archaeology, my own academic background was in sociology and cultural anthropology. After my retirement however, I found myself drawn to archaeology as well. Aside from my own personal collection, I have made extensive and frequent additions of my own via purchases on Ebay (of course), as well as many purchases from both dealers and institutions throughout the world – but especially in the Near East and in Eastern Europe. I spend over half of my year out of the United States, and have spent much of my life either in India or Eastern Europe. In fact much of what we generate on Yahoo, Amazon and Ebay goes to support The Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, as well as some other worthy institutions in Europe connected with Anthropology and Archaeology.

I acquire some small but interesting collections overseas from time-to-time, and have as well some duplicate items within my own collection which I occasionally decide to part with. Though I have a collection of ancient coins numbering in the tens of thousands, my primary interest is in ancient jewelry. My wife also is an active participant in the “business” of antique and ancient jewelry, and is from Russia. I would be happy to provide you with a certificate/guarantee of authenticity for any item you purchase from me. Whenever I am overseas I have made arrangements for purchases to be shipped out via domestic mail. If I am in the field, you may have to wait for a week or two for a COA to arrive via international air mail. But you can be sure your purchase will arrive properly packaged and promptly – even if I am absent. And when I am in a remote field location with merely a notebook computer, at times I am not able to access my email for a day or two, so be patient, I will always respond to every email. Please see our "ADDITIONAL TERMS OF SALE."

Most of the items I offer come from the collection of a family friend who was active in the field of Archaeology for over forty years. However many of the items also come from purchases I make in Eastern Europe, India, and from the Levant (Eastern Mediterranean/Near East) from various institutions and dealers. Though I have always had an interest in archaeology, my own academic background was in sociology and cultural anthropology. After my retirement however, I found myself drawn to archaeology as well. Aside from my own personal collection, I have made extensive and frequent additions of my own via purchases on Ebay (of course), as well as many purchases from both dealers and institutions throughout the world – but especially in the Near East and in Eastern Europe. I spend over half of
  • Ring Size 5.5: 5 1/2
  • Material: Ancient Bronze
  • Jewelry: Ancient Roman Ring
  • Brand: Unbranded

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