From the 2nd century through to the 15th century, the Champa Empire💧 flourished in present-day central and southern Vietnam. As a result of the region being divided by numerous rivers and separated by mountains, Champa was not a unified kingdom but rather a coalition of polities whose power waxed and waned. The Champa empire borrowed heavily from Indian culture and religion, even adopting Sanskrit as its sacred language. In Sanskrit, Cha⛦mpa is the name of a bush and a flower.

Maritime trade was the primary source of income for the seafaring Cham; many also earned a living through farming, silk weaving, and♔ gold jewellery crafting. From the 10th century onwards, A🐽rab merchants stopped along the Vietnamese coast en route to China, bringing an increased Islamic cultural and religious influence.

As seen in this exquisite group of 14th-century Champa gold rings in the collection, each ring is set with a precious stone in a high collet, decorated with intricate repoussé work on the shanks and engr🦹aved with a four-petaled🌌 lotus motif on the reverse. Each piece shows considerable Arabic artisanal influence.

This group of gold jewellery remains as evidence of this once great civilization be🌼fore its fall to northern Vietnamese invaders in the 15th c🔥entury. 

占城為中南半島古國，為今越南中南部。唐代以前，中國古籍稱為林邑，唐代史籍稱環王國，五代十國後稱占城。占城肇建於二世紀，覆亡於十五世紀，國祚超過一千六🦹百年。

由於占城的河流眾多，縱橫ܫ交錯，加上高山林立，本土地理位置使占城的權力相對分散，地方勢力盛衰無常。占城深受印度的文化及信仰影響，更參照了梵文創立了獨有的文字。♛「占城」在梵文便是「邑」、「城」的意思。

占族人的主要收入來自海上貿易、次要收入則來自畜牧、絲綢紡織及珠寶製作。自十世紀開始，占族人與阿拉伯🍎商貿頻密，大大受到伊斯蘭教文化的影響。部份族人亦由婆羅門教改信伊斯蘭教。

雪月收藏中包括一組十四世紀戒指，工🧜巧精緻，實屬占城金器之至臻典範。每枚戒指皆鑲嵌寶石，柄飾別緻花紋，背刻四瓣蓮紋，反映著當時占城與阿拉伯文化的交流，及古國權傾一🍸時之​景。