Splendor of Byzantium

Vintage Ring with Rubies & Sapphires Set in Gold, Ilias Lalaounis, Athens ca. 1990

€ 4,980.00 ^*

Content 1 piece

Incl. VAT, Shipping

Vintage Ring with Rubies & Sapphires Set in Gold, Ilias Lalaounis, Athens ca. 1990

Description

This description was automatically translated from German. If you have any questions about this piece of jewellery, we will be happy to help!

Reference to the forms of the past is a recurring motif in the history of jewellery. Not only in the 19th century, when successively the Middle Ages, then the Renaissance, then the Baroque became a new fashion. In modern times, too, the past is by no means so distant that designers and artists have not repeatedly helped themselves anew from the treasure trove of the past. Especially in Italy and Greece, this reference to their own heritage is still alive today. The designs of the Bulgari jewelry dynasty in Rome, for example, repeatedly play with references to antiquity by incorporating the forms or actual objects of antiquity, such as ancient coins, into the jewelry. In Greece, Maison Zolotas and later Ilias Lalaounis have excelled with entire collections in historical forms. The large ring here is from the hand of Ilias Lalaounis (b. 1920, ✝︎2013). Lalaounis came from a family of jewelers and watchmakers. He began his career in the early 1940s, when he took over the renowned family business Zolotas, together with Xenophon Zolotas. After the World War, he then opened his own goldsmith's shop and was soon able to win over customers such as Jackie Kennedy-Onassis, the widow of the Shah of Persia Farah Diba Pahlavi and Barbra Streisand. The ring is designed as a large oval that covers an entire finger limb. It is made of high-carat gold - typical of Lalaounis' workshop. Red rubies and blue sapphires form a cross-shaped arrangement against a background of textured gold squares. Thus, the ring appears like one of the magnificent mosaics of ancient Constantinople, such as those that can still be admired today in the Hagia Sophia. As a "Byzantine Mosaic Ring", this piece of jewelry is one of Lalaounis' signature pieces and revives the splendor of the lost empire. The ring, which found its way to us from a collection of Lalaounis works in Hamburg, has been beautifully preserved in its original leather pouch.

Size & Details

Splendor of Byzantium

€ 4,980.00 ^*

Content 1 piece

Incl. VAT, Shipping

Our Promise

We want you to be 100% satisfied! For that reason, we examine, describe and photograph all of our jewellery with the utmost care.

You can rely on our years of experience in the trade and our expertise as a professional art historians for reviews of the antique jewellery. As a member of various trade organisations and the British Society of Jewellery Historians, we remain committed to the highest possible degree of accuracy. In our descriptions, we always also indicate any signs of age and defects and never hide them in our photos – this saves you from any unpleasant surprises when your package arrives.

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Splendor of Byzantium

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