ring tribal art???

[wendy177]

I do not know what this ring is made of but it is heavy, of course no makers mark of any kind have gone over it  with a jewelers loop. Can not say when or where it was purchased I found it in one of the  many boxes my mother purchased at  auctions as she went to many in her life. The markings on the front have me stumped seems to be some kind of tribal art?? African, Indian etc....  I could be way off. thank you all

[ironlord1963]

Cool ring wendy.  First thought that came to me when you said was heavy, I though Pewter with high lead content, looks like it has no tarnish to be silver, German silver, Britannia Metal has moderate weight to it, But Lead is really heavy Pewter has lead, so maybe high Lead content.  Look Tribal for sure, almost Southwestern American Indian.  However I don't think Rings was used by southwest indian tribes.  Next guess would be Celtic motif, not sure about the symbolism.  Sorry these are all guesses, but kinda like the ring and felt it at least deserved my blah, blah stuff   

[regularjoe2]

I sure can't tell for sure from/by magnifing the images .

Are they babes in bhurkas ? Lions ? Is that a spider on top of the umbrella/palm tree ?
Are the little items on both sides a hookah & a coffee caraffe , or is it a duck & an Inca man-figure ?

All I can say is that it looks like a stamped item from what I see , unless I'm as wrong as I am in the above .

 

[talesofthesevenseas]

Those look VERY much like two feet to me. When I worked on an archaeological dig in AZ, there were hundreds of Native American petroglyphs and most of them were feet like this. It was at a place that was a resting place for travelers and the petroglyphs of feet were drawn by people on a journey. I don't know if that is exactly what your ring might represent, and I have no idea about the umbrella symbol, but it might be a starting point for further research.

Compare the criss-crossing sandal straps on the feet in these petroglyphs to the lines on the feet on your ring. I'm going to go out on a limb and say I would bet this is a ring is Native American and that it is a traditional design, intended for travelers. (But I'm not an expert and could be way off)

The petrogylphs in the photograph were drawn about 800 years ago and I am guessing that the design motif has been in use for centuries.

Here is a photo from the dig:

[wendy177]

Thanks Ironlord I really like your blah blah blah  as it is very insightful and comes from angles I would not have considered!! regularjoe was as confused as you on what  the symbols are!!! Tales how cool is there anything you have not done??? I agree they do look like little feet!! Thanks for the starting point as I was totally lost. Have been researching all morning. Have found a site and have emailed seeking help hope I hear back soon. Really would love to know how old it is and who made it. I know nothing about Native American art getting a quick education. I since have found some beautiful bead work I believe is also Native American will post photos. Thanks you guys for all the help!!!

[talesofthesevenseas]

What bothers me though is that the style of the ring looks more like Bedouin jewelry. And with these being kind of stylized feet, I would look in this direction too. I did find one Hadith (Quote from the Prophet Mohammed) which says that Heaven lies under the feet of your mother, meaning be respectful to your parents. It is possible it may have something to do with that, although Islamic art does not usually have human features, sometimes more tribal art will have stylized things like eyes and hands. So I would also look into that as another possibility. I'll be interested to hear more!