$99.99
Ancient Celtic ring, from a Celtiberian collection of artifacts; a beautiful ring which seems to have an eye on its center piece. Historians believe eye rings were meant to stop the gaze of badly-intentioned onlookers, something of a charm ring. The ring has delicate openwork flower and vine filigree, adding much rarity since this style is much less likely to survive. The ring is probably bronze, as the other artifacts in the collection are; the green oxidation also testifies to the ring being brass with high copper content.
Measurement -
The ring measures 23.30 on the outside but it is broken (and glued to a paper center piece) so it is an artifact only (cannot be worn, without extensive repair).
Provenance -
We bought a collection of ancient artifacts at auction in Switzerland (La Galerie Numismatique, September 28th, 2024); we are researching each object and offering them for sale individually. You can see the collection in the pictures we posted.
In the course of our investigation, we found that the artifacts had several names of places in the Celtiberian region written on them, for example "Salienca" is written on the base of this ring. Also, the brooch design was unique to the Celtiberians (Google search Celtiberian Brooch to see similar examples). We've come to the conclusion that the collection is specific to the Celtiberian era/region.
Wikipedia states the Celtiberians "were a group of Celts and Celticized peoples inhabiting an area in the central-northeastern Iberian Peninsula during the final centuries of the BC. They were explicitly mentioned as being Celts by several classic authors (e.g. Strabo)."
Condition -
The ring was glued to a display cabinet (we included a picture in the ad); we removed the ring but it is still glued to a center. There is some green oxidation. One side of the ring has aged to a darker color than the other... likely more brittle if removed from the mount. The ring is broken but still is beautiful and is a lovely artifact, demonstrating the skill of the artisans of this period.