Item number: G27

Year: circa AD 800-1000

Material: Gold

Size: 21 x 18.1 x 4.3 mm

Weight: 2.04 g

Provenance: Spink 2026

This is a gold finger ring, originating from the Srivijaya Empire of Sumatra.

One side of the ring is flattened and incised or stamped with a symbol, which may be “श्री” (Śrī), representing prosperity and wealth, and commonly used as an honorific title.

The Srivijaya Empire, also known as Sriwijaya, was a once-prosperous maritime trading empire that existed between the 7th and 13th centuries AD in the region of modern-day Indonesia. The origins of the empire can be traced back to the island of Sumatra, although the precise date of its foundation remains difficult to determine. According to historical records, the Srivijaya Empire had already been established as early as circa 670 AD. Due to its highly advantageous geographical location, which allowed it to control the Strait of Malacca, the empire was able to dominate international maritime trade routes, thereby becoming a crucial hub for commerce between the East and the West. Concurrently, Srivijaya was an adherent of Mahayana Buddhism, serving as the religious center of the region. Within this pious atmosphere, the empire developed a distinctive Buddhist art that integrated various cultural elements, demonstrating a unique artistic style. Around the 11th century AD, the Srivijaya Empire expanded into most parts of Java, establishing its rule over the island. The empire subsequently faced threats from the Chola Dynasty of India, which led to a gradual decline of its power. By the late 12th century AD, Srivijaya’s influence had weakened significantly, and it was ultimately annexed by the Majapahit Empire at the end of the 14th century AD.

In many ancient travel reports, the island of Java was frequently praised as an island rich in gold; however, geological and archaeological research has confirmed that Java itself lacked abundant gold mines. The contemporary records were clearly confused with the core, gold-producing hinterland of Srivijaya in Sumatra, and Java’s gold was in fact largely imported from that region. Strategically guarding the Strait of Malacca, Srivijaya was situated between several distinct monetary traditions. With the expansion of commerce, it relied heavily on precious metals, such as gold and silver, as uncoined currency by weight. Consequently, texts from the 11th century AD preserve the earliest historical records of money-changers in the Southeast Asian region. By the 14th century AD, North Sumatra, particularly Samudra-Pasai, went further to strike the earliest Islamic gold coinage, known as the dinar, in Southeast Asia. In traditional Southeast Asian societies, the physical forms of currency were considerably diverse, with many taking the shape of ingots or rings. Among the ring-shaped varieties, the boundary between physical money by weight and bodily ornaments, such as earrings or bracelets, was highly ambiguous. From Dvaravati in central Thailand, and Lan Na and Sukhothai in the north, to the Indonesian archipelago and the Philippines, the ancient elite class extensively utilised bracelets, finger rings, or circular broken rings stamped with specific devices as certificates of wealth. The circulation of this ring money was often not purely market-oriented or commercial in nature; rather, it functioned more in the context of status-enhancing transfers, such as tribute payments, royal largasse, or religious donations to temples. As the scale of transactions increased, these ring-shaped objects were officially stamped with punches or dies featuring motifs such as the wheel of the Law, elephants, or city names to verify weight standards. In central Thailand, this tradition gradually evolved into the bullet coinage, which featured a more spherical form with the two ends tucked inward.

物件編號: G27

年代: 公元約 800-1000 年

材質: 黃金

尺寸: 21 x 18.1 x 4.3 mm

重量: 2.04 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2026

這是一枚金戒指，出自蘇門達臘三佛齊帝國。

戒指的一面壓平，陰刻(或打印)有符號，可能為「श्री」(Śrī)，代表繁榮與財富，多為尊稱。

三佛齊帝國，又稱室利佛逝，是一個曾經繁榮興盛的海上貿易帝國，存在於公元7至13世紀間，位於今日印尼地區。該帝國的起源可以追溯至蘇門答臘島，然其確切建國時間難以確定。據記載，早在公元670年左右，三佛齊帝國已經建立起來。 

這個帝國由於位於地理位置優越，控制了馬六甲海峽，因此得以主導國際海上貿易路線，成為東西方貿易的重要中心。同時，三佛齊帝國也是大乘佛教的信奉者，成為該地區的宗教中心。在這一宗教氛圍下，帝國發展出了獨具特色的佛教藝術，融合了多種文化元素，展現出獨特的藝術風格。 

到了公元11世紀左右，三佛齊帝國擴張至爪哇島的大部分地區，成為該地的統治者。然而，帝國後來面臨來自印度朱羅王朝的威脅，這使得其勢力逐漸衰退。到了公元12世紀末期，三佛齊帝國的勢力已經大幅衰弱。最終於公元14世紀末遭到滿者伯夷帝國併吞。 

在許多古代旅行報告中，爪哇島常被讚美為黃金之島，但地質與考古研究證實，爪哇本地並無豐富金礦，當年的紀錄顯然是與盛產黃金的三佛齊(蘇門答臘)核心腹地相互混淆，爪哇的黃金實際上多由該地區進口。三佛齊由於扼守馬六甲海峽，位於數個貨幣傳統之間，隨著商貿的發展，高度依賴金、銀等貴金屬作為稱量貨幣。十一世紀的文獻中，便出現了東南亞地區最早關於「貨幣兌換商」的歷史記載。到了十四世紀，北蘇門答臘(如蘇木都剌-巴賽)更進一步鑄造出東南亞最早的伊斯蘭金幣(Dinar)。

在東南亞傳統社會中，貨幣的形式相當多元，其中不少為錠狀、環狀，且環狀者其與耳飾、手環等「身體裝飾品」與「稱量貨幣」之間的界線極為模糊。從泰國中部的墮羅缽底、北部的蘭納、素可泰，到印尼群島與菲律賓，古代精英階層廣泛將手環、指環或帶有特定印記的開口斷環作為財富的憑證。這類環狀貨幣可能在市場流通，但依出土紀錄，更多是用於朝貢、君王賞賜或向寺廟進行宗教奉獻等彰顯社會地位行為。隨著交易規模擴大，這些環狀物被官方打上法輪、大象或城市鋼印以確認重量標準，並在泰國中部逐步演變成形制更為圓滾、兩端內塞的「子彈幣」等等。