Medieval Crusaders Bronze ring with blue glass stone - 0 mm (No reserve price)

"Medieval Crusaders Bronze Ring with Blue Glass Stone

Culture / Period: Medieval, Crusaders
Date / Period: 11th–14th century A.D.
Material: Bronze with blue glass stone
Dimensions: Outer diameter: 22 mm
Condition: Good condition.

No shipping outside the European Union. Due to complex export regulations concerning cultural goods, this item cannot be shipped outside the EU. Please ensure you have a delivery address within the European Union before placing a bid.

Provenance information:
Object Registration ID: 793
The current owner purchased this object from a reputable Dutch numismatic auction house in Schiedam, the Netherlands. Due to privacy regulations, the name of the previous owner could not be disclosed. No further information concerning the earlier ownership history of the object was available from the previous owner.

Background Information:

This bronze finger ring dates to the Crusader period and is set with a rounded blue glass cabochon secured within a high four-pronged bezel. This type of setting was widely employed in medieval jewellery, allowing coloured glass to imitate more costly gemstones while producing an attractive and durable personal ornament.

During the 11th–14th centuries A.D., the Crusader States became important centres of cultural exchange between Western Europe, the Byzantine Empire, and the Islamic Near East. Jewellery from this period reflects these interactions, combining Western medieval ring forms with sophisticated eastern traditions of glassmaking and metalworking. Rings with coloured glass settings are well documented from archaeological excavations in the Levant and surrounding regions.

Blue glass was particularly popular in medieval jewellery. It provided the appearance of valuable stones such as sapphire or other blue gems at a fraction of the cost. Medieval lapidaries and religious writings frequently associated the colour blue with heaven, purity, fidelity, wisdom, and divine protection. Although the precise symbolic intention of this individual ring cannot be established, blue glass settings were appreciated both for their beauty and for the positive associations attached to their colour.

The ring was cast in bronze and carefully finished before being fitted with a separately produced glass cabochon held securely by four robust prongs. Such construction demonstrates the practical skills of medieval craftsmen, who combined durable bronze mountings with high-quality coloured glass produced in specialised workshops throughout the eastern Mediterranean. Similar rings have been recovered from Crusader castles, pilgrimage centres, towns, and rural settlements.

Dating to the 11th–14th century A.D., this ring belongs to a period when commerce, pilgrimage, and military activity connected Europe with the eastern Mediterranean on an unprecedented scale. Everyday objects such as this illustrate the artistic exchange that characterised the Crusader era, where Western, Byzantine, and Islamic traditions influenced one another.

This piece forms a tangible connection to the medieval world, where personal rings such as this served as both practical jewellery and expressions of taste, reflecting the remarkable cultural diversity of the Crusader period."