Medieval Islamic 21K Gold Seal Ring | Arabic Script Inscription

Near East, Medieval Islamic, ca. 900–1400 CE. A gold signet ring, tested at 21.4 karats. The slim, plain band rises to a round, flat bezel with a raised border. The face is divided by horizontal rules into stacked registers of Arabic script, the letters cut boldly with crisp strokes and small dots. Rings of this kind usually carried an owner’s name, a pious phrase or a short invocation, and served as personal adornment and as seals for letters and documents. The small band suggests it was made for a slender finger or to be worn on the little finger. Size of band: 0.1" W x 0.49" Diam (0.3 cm W x 1.2 cm Diam); signet face: 0.47" Diam (1.2 cm Diam); gold quality: 89.1% (21.4 karat); weight: 3.9 grams.

Signet rings were central to administrative and personal life across the medieval Islamic world. According to tradition, the Prophet Muhammad had a silver seal ring engraved with "Muhammad Rasul Allah" made to authenticate his letters to foreign rulers. Rulers, officials, merchants, and private people followed the practice, and seal inscriptions usually gave a name, a declaration of trust in God, or a short Quranic phrase. Ring faces were often divided into horizontal registers, as here, so that several words could fit into a small, legible field.

Provenance: private New Jersey, USA collection, acquired by family descent; originally acquired in the 1980s

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Item #205478

Condition
Some small nicks to bezel and band, but, otherwise, intact, excellent, and wearable with good remaining detail..