Ringstone

(New York) (New York) The ringstone is a distinctive type of artefact and miniature sculpture made in India during the approximate period of the Mauryan Empire (c. 322–185 BCE) and the following Sunga Empire (187–78 BCE). They are usually dated to the third or second centuries BCE. They are shaped somewhat like a doughnut, but with straighter outer edges and they are flat and plain on the obverse. They are carved out of stone, with very fine relief on the top side that includes several zones of decoration surrounding a circular opening in the centre. Many feature a four-pointed star as a repeated border motif. They measure approximately across the diameter. Their purpose, and any practical function, remains unclear and "enigmatic". They may have had a specific religious purpose or a more general one such as promoting fertility. They may have been used to make components of jewelry by pressing metal foil over the designs. Approximately 70 have been found, many only as fragments, with a 2014 find in Thailand being the first from outside the Indian subcontinent; it is presumed this was imported from India. Ringstones were first described by Alexander Cunningham, who published an image of one in the late nineteenth century. By the time of the S. P. Gupta survey of 1980, at least 32 ringstones and 36 discstones were recorded; the numbers have continued to rise.

(New York) (New York) The ringstone is a distinctive type of artefact and miniature sculpture made in India during the approximate period of the Mauryan Empire (c. 322–185 BCE) and the following Sunga Empire (187–78 BCE). They are usually dated to the third or second centuries BCE. They are shaped somewhat like a doughnut, but with straighter outer edges and they are flat and plain on the obverse. They are carved out of stone, with very fine relief on the top side that includes several zones of decoration surrounding a circular opening in the centre. Many feature a four-pointed star as a repeated border motif. They measure approximately across the diameter. Their purpose, and any practical function, remains unclear and "enigmatic". They may have had a specific religious purpose or a more general one such as promoting fertility. They may have been used to make components of jewelry by pressing metal foil over the designs. Approximately 70 have been found, many only as fragments, with a 2014 find in Thailand being the first from outside the Indian subcontinent; it is presumed this was imported from India. Ringstones were first described by Alexander Cunningham, who published an image of one in the late nineteenth century. By the time of the S. P. Gupta survey of 1980, at least 32 ringstones and 36 discstones were recorded; the numbers have continued to rise. Bennett, Anna (2017), "Sunga ringstone found in Thailand"; photos of lecture slides Bennett, Anna (2019), "Suvarnabhumi, "Land of Gold"", in Suvarnabhumi, the Golden Land, 2019, GISDA, PDF Lerner, Martin and Kossak, Steven, The Lotus Transcendent: Indian and Southeast Asian Art from the Samuel Eilenberg Collection, 1991, Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.), , 9780870996139, google books Siudmak, John, Catalogue No. 5, "Indian and Himalayan Sculpture", 2016, Catalogue No. 2, "V&A": "Ring stone" in collection

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