Bronze Age penannular-ring. Late Bronze Age date, circa 1150...

Estimate

£800 - £1,200

Bronze Age penannular-ring. Late Bronze Age date, circa 1150-800 BCE. Complete and undamaged, formed of pale gold and silver wrapped around an iron or copper core. The toned silver and yellow gold stripes create a repeating pattern of alternating rings which encircle it. A circular-sectioned iron rod links the terminals. The penannular ring belongs to a class of artefact which has been termed 'hair-rings' and 'ring-money' (Taylor 1980, Eogan 1994, 1997, Hobbs 2003, Meeks et al 2008 and O'Connor et al 2008). Their function remains uncertain, although it is likely that they were personal adornments, possibly worn on the ears or nose, rather than being hair-ornaments or items of exchange.

A recent scientific analysis of penannular rings categorised the rings into four broad types based on their components and decoration (Meeks et al. 2008). This particular example comes under their ‘Type 3d gold foil plated copper alloy ring, with silvery gold wire inlay’ and analysis of a similar one in the British Museum collections suggests that the technical skill involved in creating the fine silver-rich gold striped effect on the surface was highly complex. Recorded on the PAS database as: ESS-8F6336, Treasure case number: 2023T699.
https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/1121298.