Roman 21K Gold Ring | Carnelian Intaglio of Artemis of Ephesus

Roman, Imperial period. A Roman finger ring of heavy, buttery gold tested at 88.8 percent (about 21.3 karats). Its hoop swells into broad, rounded shoulders that hold an oval carnelian intaglio set flush in the bezel. Two tight coils of even purer gold wire, tested at 97.8 to 98.8 percent (about 23.5 to 23.7 karats), are wrapped around the hoop. The wraps may be decorative or may mark a joint in the band. The engraving on the deep red stone is schematic, with a few quick, linear cuts. It most likely shows a frontal figure of Artemis of Ephesus, with a columnar body and outstretched arms. An intaglio like this would have worked as a personal seal, pressed into wax or clay, and possibly also as a protective emblem for its wearer. If the reading is right, the figure follows the cult statue of Artemis Ephesia, which stood in her great temple at Ephesus on the western coast of Asia Minor. The temple was counted among the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. The goddess of Ephesus looks nothing like the slim huntress of Greek myth. She stands stiff and upright, wearing a tall polos crown. Her body is wrapped in a sheath of animal and floral panels, and woolen fillets hang from her outstretched forearms. Her best-known feature is the rows of rounded shapes on her chest, read in turn as breasts, eggs, or bull's testicles. Scholars still debate what they mean. Her image spread across the Roman world on coins, statuettes, and engraved gems. On a stone as small as a ring bezel, cutters often cut the figure down to a column with spreading arms, which is the kind of shorthand visible here. Item # 205481

Estimation:€1,337.97

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