Image: BLW Silver Anglo-Saxon ring

Description: Ring 775-850 England (Anglo-Saxon) Silver Found in the River Thames at Chelsea, London The inlaid gold and filigree jewellery of the seventh century was largely replaced in the early eighth century by silver work as a consequence of the increasing scarcity of gold. The focus on silver gave rise to new decorative schemes: the material lent itself to different techniques such as repoussé, chip carving and the openwork seen on the present ring. The growth in popularity of these decorative techniques was accompanied by a distinctive development of zoomorphic style, characterised by lively beasts, interlaced meshes and speckled surfaces, all of which are present in the central roundel of this ring.
Title: BLW Silver Anglo-Saxon ring
Credit: Originally uploaded at http://www.britainloveswikipedia.org/
Author: Valerie McGlinchey
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 uk
License: CC BY-SA 2.0 uk
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/uk/deed.en
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