A ROMAN GOLD & CARNELIAN INTAGLIO RING DEPICTING ATHENA

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A ROMAN GOLD AND CARNELIAN INTAGLIO RING DEPICTING ATHENA, CIRCA 2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D. The ring of substantial form, the broad hoop of sheet gold expanding at the shoulders to support a raised oval bezel. The bezel framed by a moulded gold surround and set at each of the four corners with a cluster of three granulated gold beads arranged in a trefoil, the shoulders chased with foliate ornament that continues onto the outer face of the hoop. The oval carnelian intaglio of deep translucent orange-red, engraved with a standing figure of Athena in three-quarter view, helmeted and draped in a long chiton, holding a spear upright in her raised right hand and a round shield lowered at her left side, with a further attribute, probably an owl or serpent, at her feet. The figure carries the standard attributes of Athena in her armed aspect: the crested helmet, the long spear, and the circular shield. The stance, with the weight on one leg and the drapery falling in vertical folds, follows the type of the Athena Promachos as transmitted through Hellenistic and later Roman glyptic. In Roman use the goddess, identified with Minerva, functioned as a protector in war and a patroness of craft and wisdom, and her image on a personal seal served both as a devotional emblem and as an assertion of the wearer's virtues. Intaglios of this subject were cut in considerable numbers across the Empire and were among the most widely diffused of divine images in gem engraving. Carnelian was the preferred hardstone for Roman intagli, valued for its even colour, its resistance to the wax used for sealing, and its clean release from the impression. Gold rings of this weight and construction, with applied granulation and a heavy bezel, belong to the tradition of Roman signet rings worn by citizens of standing, where the ring served the double function of ornament and legal instrument. The combination of a fine engraved gem with a substantial gold setting indicates a commission of some means, the intaglio itself likely earlier than or contemporary with the setting and possibly reset during the life of the object. This ring exemplifies the middle-imperial Roman signet at its most characteristic: a well-cut carnelian of a favoured divine subject, mounted in a solid gold hoop with granulated corner ornament that raises the bezel into architectural prominence. It stands within the mainstream of Roman personal seals rather than at their most elaborate extreme, and preserves in a single object the double identity of the Roman ring as jewel and as signature. Dimensions: Length of cameo: 1.5 cm. Internal diameter: 2.3 cm.

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