56. Signet Ring

Electrum, also known as argentian gold, was a natural alloy of gold and silver procured from Nubia and the Eastern desert. It was valued for its shine, as well as its perceived connection to divinity in both Egypt and Nubia. The bezel of the ring was used to stamp clay with an image of authority as part of an administrative process. It depicts a ruler with short hair or a cropped wig seated on a throne, holding a staff in his left hand. He is wearing a long (leather?) cloak that exposes the shoulders, a collar, anklets, wristlets and armbands, as well as an Egyptian triple atef crown with spiral ram’s horns, sun discs, ostrich feathers and uraei. The bird behind the throne is the Egyptian falcon deity Horus, who was coterminous with every living pharaoh and protector of the throne. The Gammai cemetery, where the ring was found, consisted of earth mounds over dug chambers that adhered to the Nubian style of burial. Sizeable (229 ft in diameter) and containing rich finds, Mound E was likely the burial site of a ruler. The ring was found together with other symbols of royal authority inside a bronze box decorated with motifs of Greco-Roman origin: e.g. Dionysiac, centaur and satyr figures playing instruments. The overall assemblage and the iconography of the ring is a striking example of the amalgamation of Egyptian, Nubian and Greco-Roman elements in Nobadian culture.