Finger Ring
Unknown Artist
7th century
Medium
Silvered Bronze
Dimensions
Overall: 7/8 x 13/16 x 5/16 in. (2.3 x 2 x 0.8 cm) bezel: 5/16 x 3/16 in. (0.8 x 0.5 cm)
Classification
Metalwork-Bronze
Culture
Frankish
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Accession Number
17.192.225
Art Historical Context
This delicate finger ring, crafted in the 7th by an unknown Frankish artisan, the exquisite metalwork of the early Medieval period. Made of silvered bronze—a technique a thin silver layer was applied over bronze to the luster of more precious metals—it measures just 7/8 x 13/16 x 5/16 inches, with a modest bezel of 5/ x 3/16 inches. Such rings were intimate personal adornments, likely worn by members of the Frankish elite during the Merovingian era, a time when the Franks ruled much of what is now France and Germany. In the turbulent 7th century, Frankish society blended Germanic traditions w...