Treasures of the Ferrell Collection

James Ferrell has collected Greek and Roman antiquities for many years to satisfy his life-long interest in ancient history. His collection is particularly important for its focus on jewelry, engraved gems and cameos, imperial medallions, and silver plate dating from the end of the Roman Empire and the early Byzantine period (3rd-7th centuries AD). It was at this time that the Roman Empire was gradually overrun by barbarian invaders and shifted its capital eastward, to the newly founded city of Constantinople.§The Ferrell Collection is particularly rich in objects made of precious metal created in royal and imperial workshops, ranging from jewelry of the Hellenistic Greek kings to medallions and brooches presented by the Roman emperors to high officials and military officers. Also included are beautifully made objects from Gothic craftsmen of the fifth and sixth centuries, including gold and silver buckles and jewelry inlaid with garnets. The catalogue continues with a superb assemblage of Byzantine jewelry and an important selection of sixth-century ecclesiastical silver vessels.§Jeffrey Spier is a university associate and adjunct professor in the Classics Department at the University of Arizona. He has published extensively on Greek and Roman gems and jewelry and on early Christian and Byzantine art. His books include Ancient Gems and Finger Rings. Catalogue of the Collections, The J. Paul Getty Museum (1992), Late Antique and Early Christian Gems (2007), and Picturing the Bible: the Earliest Christian Art (2007).§