09.11.22.

Ring of King Stefan the First-Crowned

In terms of craftsmanship and artistic conception, the ring is unique. Its origin is in the circle of Byzantine goldsmiths, and it was made in one of the prestigious capital workshops. It was made by a master craftsman who combined well-known elements to create a ring of exceptional artistic value. According to the characteristics of the component parts, it belongs to the group of rings that were made during the X-XI centuries.

More about the ring of King Stephen the First Crowned:

V. Bikić, Ring of King Stefan the First-Crowned, in: Catalog of the exhibition Spiritual and cultural heritage of Studenica monastery: antiquity, stability, modernity (ed. M. Marković), Gallery of Fine and Musical Arts SANU (December 13, 2019-March 31, 2020), Belgrade: Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts – Studenica Monastery 2019, cat. no. 30, p. 76-77.

A pdf of the catalog is available for download as a pdf or for purchase: HERE.

https://prodavnica.manastirstudenica.rs/product/duhovno-i-kuturno-nasledje-manastira-studenice/

„А кад гледаше подизање храма Пресвете [Богородице у Студеници], овај мој господин свети, верујте ми, о господо и браћо, да сам видео како се његов ум диже у висину као неки небопарни орао, који је држан на земљи везан узама железним, па се истргао и у висину узлетео да дође до онога бесмртнога и светога источника и да види хлад божанственога града Вишњег Јерусалима, чији, уистину, постаде грађанин“

„Студеница је грађена да спаја небо и земљу, да буде лествица која узводи људе са земље ка небу, да слави Тросунчаног Бога у лепоти вишњега Јерусалима, у Царству небеском“.

„Наш свети манастир овај, као што знате, као пусто место беше, ловишта зверова беху. Дошавши, пак, у лов, господину нашем и самодршцу, царствујућем све Српске земље, Стефану Немањи, ловећи овде, изволи се њему у пустом овом месту да сагради манастир овај, на покој и на умножење монашког чина“.

"And when he saw the building of the temple of the Most Holy [Mother of God in Studenica], this holy lord of mine, believe me, O gentlemen and brothers, that I saw his mind rise in height like a eagle flying to the sky, held on the ground tied with iron ropes, so he tore himself and ascended to the heights to reach that immortal and holy wellspring and to see the shade of the divine city of the Most High Jerusalem, of which, indeed, he became a citizen."

"Studenica was built to connect Heaven and Earth, to be a Ladder that raises people from Earth to Heaven, to glorify the Triune God in the beauty of the Most High Jerusalem, in the Kingdom of Heaven".

"This, our holy monastery, as is known, was a wasteland, a wild hunting ground. Yet, upon arriving to hunt, our master and consolidator, Stefan Nemanja, who ruled the entire Serbian lands, whilst hunting here, decided to build, on this wasteland, this monastery, for peace and for the multiplication of the monastic order."