Extremely Rare Imperial Ottoman Archer's Ring Decorated With Emeralds and Diamonds - SOLD

Project Details

Extremely Rare Imperial Ottoman Archer’s Ring Decorated With Emeralds and Diamonds – SOLD

Turkey – 16th Century – Length: 4.7 cm

This zihgir, which was worn on the thumb of the right hand of the archer to provide protection as well as to smooth the way for the bow, was an important functional item of imperial jewellery. This ring belongs to a rare group of high quality Ottoman hardstone carvings made for the hazine, the Treasury of the Sultans. The group consists of personal as well as ceremonial items that include tankards, bowls, drinking vessels and pen cases, as well as plaques for attachment to swords, saddles and horse trappings. A gem-set tankard of this type was recently acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum (inv. no. ME.5-2011, and for further examples, see E. Atil, The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent, Exhibition Catalogue, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. 25th January-17th May, 1987, pp.113-175). Robert Skelton describes how this technique was achieved in his seminal paper on Ottoman jades: “the gems were not set into the jade but were in small cylinders of gold rising from circular plaques of gold foil on the surface of the stone. Thus each gem and its enclosing sheath of gold is like the calyx of a small flower and the effect is confirmed by the connecting stems and small leaves with engraved veins which form a net over the surface of the stone. These stems and leaves are stiffly formalised and the gems are disposed over the surface fairly closely at regular intervals so that the total effect is very rich and stylised.” (Robert Skelton, ‘Characteristics of later Turkish jade carving’ in Proceedings of the Fifth International Congress of Turkish Art, Budapest, 1978, p.796). A portrait of Mehmed the Conqueror smelling a rose, attributed to Shiblizade Ahmed, clearly displays an archer’s ring such as the present lot on the hand of the Sultan (Topkapi Palace Museum, TSM H 2153, folio 10a). A small group of similar archer’s rings are preserved in the Topkapi Palace Museum treasury (Gul Irepoglu, Imperial Ottoman Jewellery, Istanbul, 2012, pp. 236-36, TSM inv. nos. 2/83, 2/76, 2/72, 2/88).

Categories: Bejewelled & Enamelled
Provenance: Private UK Collection

Cookie	Duration	Description
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional	11 months	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Extremely Rare Imperial Ottoman Archer’s Ring Decorated With Emeralds and Diamonds – SOLD

Enquiries