Ring

2008BT1827_jpg_l. 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 repouss ©, 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. All these images are © V&A Images/Victoria and Albert Museum, London. These free low-resolution images are covered also under the museum's Terms and Conditions (http://collections.vam.ac.uk/information/information_termsandconditions). The full image collection is available at: http://www.vam.ac.uk and http://collections.vam.ac.uk/ where you can also order high resolution copies.