Indus Valley Silver Ring

A red stone crossed with white lines, as if someone drew a window on it a few thousand years ago.

This ring is from the Indus Valley peoples of Pakistan or India, South Asia, and is dated 3300 to 1200 BCE, in the Bronze Age, in etched silver and agate. Indus Valley craftsmen are generally credited with developing etched carnelian, in which an alkaline paste is painted onto the stone and fired to leave permanent white lines. The oval red stone here is crossed by white bands in a lattice. It sits in a silver bezel ringed with twisted rope wire. The shoulders swell into scrolled, leaf-like volutes before narrowing to a plain band.

Ancient graphic design, set for a modern hand.