Lot Essay
For a related but slightly simpler version see the carnelian ring stone in the Fitzwilliam Museum, no. 352 in Henig, Classical Gems.
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CIRCA 1ST CENTURY A.D.
Details
A ROMAN RED JASPER RING STONE
Circa 1st Century A.D.
The flat oval stone engraved with a combination of hippalectryon (cock-horse) type ridden by a winged Eros, the creature standing in profile, its cock's legs supporting a body formed of a Silenus mask topped with the head and neck of a horse, a branch in the horse's mouth, its tail in the form of a ram's head holding two sheaths of wheat, a stork's neck and head projecting down from Silenus's chin towards the hare held in the creature's talons, a mouse and snake below; mounted as a ring in a modern gold setting
¾ in. (1.9 cm) long; ring size 10
Circa 1st Century A.D.
The flat oval stone engraved with a combination of hippalectryon (cock-horse) type ridden by a winged Eros, the creature standing in profile, its cock's legs supporting a body formed of a Silenus mask topped with the head and neck of a horse, a branch in the horse's mouth, its tail in the form of a ram's head holding two sheaths of wheat, a stork's neck and head projecting down from Silenus's chin towards the hare held in the creature's talons, a mouse and snake below; mounted as a ring in a modern gold setting
¾ in. (1.9 cm) long; ring size 10
Provenance
European Private Collection, 1970s