This cast gold ring is an example of goldwork found in Java from the early 12th-14th centuries. Heavy cast gold rings such as this were frequently inscribed with old Javanese script. Some of them bore words such as ‘Sarat’, meaning ‘the entire world’; ‘Sri hana’, meaning ‘There is luck’ or ‘There is Sri’; or ‘Sriya’, meaning ‘By Luck’ or ‘By Sri’. Sri was the Hindu goddess of rice, fertility, good fortune, and prosperity in general, and rings with Sri motifs were probably believed to bring luck to the wearer. Some of these rings may have been designed as seal rings rather than merely as jewellery. The level of technical sophistication reached its peak at this time when a combination of wax-casting, engraving and other techniques resulted in objects with very fine details.
