884 - Gem with a Phoenician inscription (mid-1st millennium B.C.), set in an antique-style Safavid silver ring (17th–early 18th centuries)

Gem with a Phoenician inscription (mid-1st millennium B.C.), set in an antique-style Safavid silver ring (17th–early 18th centuries) Oval chalcedony gem with a beveled edge. Enclosed by an oval line near the edge is a two-line, mirror-image inscription in the Phoenician alphabet, with the lines separated by a horizontal line. The gem was later set in a silver ring during the Safavid period. The ring shank is slightly domed at the bottom, surmounted by a high, steep-walled setting that tapers slightly conically and is decorated with two horizontal rows of hallmarks. Simple hallmark decoration is also present on the underside of the ring shank and on the shoulder of the ring. The 4 mm wide ring shank is flat on the inside and slightly curved on the outside. On the underside of the ring shank, the typical knob found on rings of this period is only faintly defined. The craftsmanship and decoration suggest a later date within the Safavid era (16th–early 18th centuries). Inner ring diameter: 22 mm, total weight: 7.8 g. CULTURAL HERITAGE! Provenance: Private collection in southern Germany, acquired from the grandfather’s estate. Purchased by him at art fairs and in galleries during the 1980s and 1990s. Condition: II +