The bust of a woman is carved on this monolithic ring. Her features, symmetrically arranged hair, and drapery were produced by drilled grooves that were then polished smooth. The sparkling and animated effect of this irregular surface is further enlivened by the refraction of light through the clear crystal, which contrasts with the smooth surface of the ring’s wide hoop.

The ring has a small opening relative to its hoop, which suggests that it was not intended to be worn on a finger. The deep notch opposite the bust implies a specific function, but this use is not known. It has been suggested that the ring was used on clothing or as an amulet.

According to Pliny the Elder (in his Naturalis Historia, written in the first century CE and the source of much of the scientific knowledge in the Roman world), rock crystal was the most expensive mineral found on the surface of the earth, made from the purest snow that was frozen to the highest degree. It was rare to find flawless rock crystal, so that vessels and works of art carved from it were highly valued and appreciated.

Several similar rock crystal rings have survived from the Roman Empire, with the hair styles and features of relatives of the emperor Trajan (98–117). This bust may also represent an aristocratic figure or the goddess Isis, often recognized by long, corkscrew curls that hang to either side of her face. Whatever the identification, such rock crystal rings seem to have been made during a relatively brief span of time—from the early second century through the early fourth century, with a preponderance of extant examples from the second or third century.

- S. Zwirn

Handbook of the Byzantine Collection (Washington, D.C., 1967), 95, no. 324.

G. Bühl, ed., Dumbarton Oaks: The Collections (Washington, D.C., 2008), 40, pl. p. 41.

Collection of Hayford Peirce (1883-1946), collector;

By descent to Mrs. Hayford (Pauline "Polly" Frances Brown) Peirce (1911-1994), Los Angeles, CA;

Gift of Mrs. Hayford Peirce to Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, D.C., March 1963;

Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Byzantine Collection, Washington, D.C.