A ROMAN OBSIDIAN AND GILT GLASS FINGER RING

CIRCA 1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.

Details

A ROMAN OBSIDIAN AND GILT GLASS FINGER RING
CIRCA 1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.
The obsidian hoop slightly convex on the interior, rounded on the exterior, with broad shoulders, the oval bezel set with a pale transparent thin green glass gem engraved with the Dioscuri standing on a groundline, Castor and Pollux both depicted nude, each armed with a crested helmet, holding a spear in one upraised hand, a sheathed sword and a shield in the other, the engraved areas overlaid with gold foil
1 ½ in. (3.8 cm.) wide

Provenance

Private Collection, Germany, 1960s to 1986.
with Ariadne Galleries, New York, 1986.
Private Collection, New York, 1986-2014.

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Lot Essay

Roman finger rings sculpted from a single piece of stone are comparatively rare. The hoops can be plain, as seen on the example presented here, or ornamented, and are typically made from carnelian, chalcedony, rock crystal, and amber (see for example nos. 1600-1601 in F.H. Marshall, Catalogue of the Finger Rings, Greek, Etruscan & Roman in the Departments of Antiquities, British Museum; no. 10.61 in M. Henig and A. MacGregor, Catalogue of the Engraved Gems and Finger-rings in the Ashmolean Museum, II, Roman; and nos. 260-261 in A.B. Chadour, Rings, The Alice and Louis Koch Collection). The type typically has the bezel engraved in intaglio for use as a seal, rather than with a separately-made gem in-set, as here. For a rock crystal ring set with a gold medallion, see no. 260 in Chadour, op. cit. The use of obsidian for a finger ring in the Roman period is exceedingly rare.

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