Lot 159

Byzantine Bronze & Copper Jewelry Group - 3 Bracelets, 2 Rings

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Lot 159
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Byzantine Bronze & Copper Jewelry Group - 3 Bracelets, 2 Rings
Byzantine Bronze & Copper Jewelry Group - 3 Bracelets, 2 Rings
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Byzantine Bronze & Copper Jewelry Group - 3 Bracelets, 2 Rings

Estimate: $700 - $1,000

Starting Bid: $350

(0 Bids)
by Artemis Fine Arts
August 6, 2026 9:00 AM MDT
Live Auction
686 S. Taylor Avenue
Suite 108
Louisville, CO, US 80027

Eastern Mediterranean, Byzantine Empire, ca. 500–1200 CE. A group of five personal ornaments cast and worked in copper alloy, comprising three open-ended penannular bracelets and two finger rings, their surfaces deepened by centuries of burial into mottled greens and earthen browns. Two bracelets are slender rods tapering toward their terminals, while a third is a broader tubular hoop of hollow section. The rings echo the same repertoire: one a flat band, the other a tubular loop of leaded bronze. The penannular form, worn slightly open so it could be sprung onto wrist or finger, was a staple of Byzantine adornment across social strata, valued for its simplicity and its subtle apotropaic resonance. Unpretentious yet intimate, such pieces accompanied their wearers in daily life and, often, into the grave, surviving as quiet testaments to the everyday elegance of the medieval Eastern Mediterranean. Size of largest (thicker tubular braclet): 2.8" W x 2.7" D (7.1 cm W x 6.9 cm D); ring sizes: flat: 7.25, tubular: 7.

The penannular (open-ended) bracelet endured for centuries in the Byzantine world precisely because of its practicality: the gap allowed the band to be flexed onto the limb without a clasp. Metallurgy varied within a single assemblage such as this one, where the flat bracelet is worked copper and the tubular ring is a leaded bronze, the added lead improving the flow of the molten alloy in casting hollow or thin-walled forms. The green and brown patina is cuprite and malachite corrosion, the natural signature of long interment.

Please note that the tubular ring contains up to 4% lead.

Provenance: private Englewood, Colorado, USA collection; ex-private collection acquired in 1950s

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Item # 203816

  • Condition: Some bending as well as expected weathering and abrasion o surfaces commensurate with age. Mid-size bracelet has been

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $299 $25
$300 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $20,000