'the Third Eye': A Frederick-era Arab-norman Gold And Agate Esoteric Ring. Sicily, 13th Century

'The Third Eye' Esoteric ring from Frederick II, Arab-Norman, in gold and agate. Sicily, 13th century. From the Fatimid culture, this gold object, in an exceptional state of preservation, features a cameo in veined agate, masterfully carved to show the veins that form a pupil within the eyeball. An open, peering eye. The third eye, already venerated in the Egyptian world, was assimilated by Arab-Norman culture as a protective amulet that sees what one's own eyes cannot. The engraving on the gold cup that surrounds and holds the agate bulb is engraved and chiseled with a medieval motif of the wavy oak leaf, repeated facing and counterposed. The oak leaf is a decoration associated with the Swabian and Norman families. In some miniatures we find Frederick II holding the oak leaf, a leaf representing the strength and majesty of the royal lineage. On the sides, two running deer are engraved on the stem. In the Middle Ages, the deer represented strength, renewal, grace, beauty, and spirituality. A magical object from an ancient and refined Sicilian collection, now part of the newly established Medieval Museum Federico II and the Middle Ages.