CIRCA LATE 1ST CENTURY B.C.

The gemstone is engraved with a draped bust of Victoria in profile to the left, the drapery pinned at the shoulders and gathered low on her chest and left arm, revealing her breasts. Her hair is pulled up into a topknot; there is a diminutive wing at her shoulders, and a palm branch rising before her. For the subject, compare the chalcedony ringstone, no. 97 in M. Henig, Classical Gems, Ancient and Modern Intaglios and Cameos in The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. The gem is inset into a modern gold finger ring.