BYZANTINE HIGH KARAT GOLD RING WITH RED GARNET INTAGLIO DEPICTING CHI-RHO Ca. AD 500 - 700. A red garnet intaglio engraved with the Chi-Rho monogram, composed of the overlapping Greek letters Χ (chi) and Ρ (rho), encircled by a laurel wreath. The oval gem is set in a plain gold bezel attached to a narrow, round-sectioned hoop. For similar see: Chris Entwistle, Noël Adams, "Gems of Heaven": Recent Research on Engraved Gemstones in Late Antiquity, c. AD 200-600, Plate 21, F.3. Size: D:16.1mm / US: 5 1/2 / UK: K 1/2; Weight: 2g Provenance: Private London collection; previously in a 1990s UK collection of Ancient Art.