CASE K. The Ring of Nestor

Accession Number AN1938.1130
Year 1600 - 1450 BCE
Dimensions 3.5 cm x 2.2 cm
Medium gold
Location Ashmolean Museum
View in Collection

This gold ring was said to have been found at Kakovatos, near Pylos, and so Evans gave it the name ‘the Ring of Nestor’ when he purchased it after the mythical king of Pylos. It shows a complex and unparalleled scene which Evans interpreted as showing the afterlife.

Bibliography

Evans, Arthur. 1925. ‘The Ring of Nestor’. A Glimpse into the Minoan After-World, and a Sepulchral Treasure of Gold Signet-Rings and Bead-Seals from Thisbê, Boeotia
Evans, Arthur. 1930. The Palace of Minos at Knossos, III, pp. 145-157, fig. 94-95

Myres, John (ed.). 1936. British Archaeological Discoveries in Greece and Crete 1886-1936, p. 30

Hughes-Brock, Helen and Boardman, John. 2009. Corpus of Minoan and Mycenaean Seals VI: Oxford, the Ashmolean Museum, no. 277