Ring with Human Figures Flanking the Tree of Life, Iran, 12th century. Gold; cast and fabricated from sheet, granulation, filigree, gold wire. Diameter: 1 in. (2.5 cm) © Benaki Museum, Athens (ΓΕ 1888)

These rings represent two styles of production that were worn by many people in Seljuq Iran. The example with the tourmaline bead conforms to a popular design worn by Seljuq men but sometimes presented to women as love tokens. While the ring with filigree and granulation is related by technique to gold jewelry from Fatimid Egypt and Syria, the two figures flanking a Tree of Life on its bezel and the crowned heads on its shank justify its Seljuq attribution. The molded lion and the niello inscription—which employs a black organic compound—of the words “glory” and “prosperity” demonstrate the ubiquity of the imagery of power and protection in Seljuq art.