RARE BYZANTINE OPENWORK HIGH KARAT GOLD RING WITH PEARLS, DEPICTING CHRIST AND SAINTS AND INSCRIPTIO Ca. AD 400 - 600. A 23.5 kt gold ring with an oval bezel framed by an openwork border of scrolls, each containing a letter, enclosing a gold oval medallion with three standing figures. Christ is shown in the centre, nimbate and flanked by two saints. The band is formed from an elaborately decorated hoop with volute finials supporting the bezel, and a small pearl is set into each shoulder. Reviewed by Sami Fortune, an ancient jewellery specialist. For similar see: J. Spier, Byzantium and the West, Jewelry in the First Millennium, Fig. 8 (Gold frame). Size: D:17.53mm / US: 7 1/4 / UK: O; Weight: 7.6g Provenance: Private UK collection; formerly in a 1980s-1990s London collection. This item has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database and comes with a confirmation letter.