A ROMAN GOLD AND GLASS IMITATION NICOLO INTAGLIO RING, the hoop composed of a ribbed band bordered by gold wire, the shoulder with openwork wire spirals, the bezel set with an oval nicolo intaglio showing a Capricorn in profile to the left, 4th-5th Century A.D.; and another cornelian oval intaglio showing a naked warrior consulting an oracle, standing holding a spear with a shield at his feet, before a slender column with a snake entwined around it and a bird perched on the top, set in a later gold hoop decorated with leaves, intaglio circa 1st Century B.C.

A ROMAN GOLD AND GLASS IMITATION NICOLO INTAGLIO RING, the hoop composed of a ribbed band bordered by gold wire, the shoulder with openwork wire spirals, the bezel set with an oval nicolo intaglio showing a Capricorn in profile to the left, 4th-5th Century A.D.; and another cornelian oval intaglio showing a naked warrior consulting an oracle, standing holding a spear with a shield at his feet, before a slender column with a snake entwined around it and a bird perched on the top, set in a later gold hoop decorated with leaves, intaglio circa 1st Century B.C.

Details

Lot Essay

Item one: this is a characteristic ring type from Western Europe at the very end of the Roman period. For British parallels, cf. C. R. Johns and T. Potter, The Thetford Treasure, London, 1983, nos. 10-12; also, M. Henig, A Corpus of Roman engraved gemstones from British sites, British Archaeological Reports Series 8, 1978, App. 202, p. 316, plate series A.
Item two, cf. M. Henig, The Lewis Collection of Gemstones, BAR Supp. Series 1, 1975, nos. 185-186, p. 48, pl. 12 "It is generally thought that the type represents a visit to an oracle such as Dionysios of Halikarnassos describes at Tiora (Ant. rom, I, 14) where the responses were given by a woodpecker."

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