CIRCA 2ND CENTURY A.D.

Details

A ROMAN RED JASPER RINGSTONE WITH TWO CUPIDS AT A COCKFIGHT
CIRCA 2ND CENTURY A.D.
9/16 in. (1.2 cm.) wide; ring size 6

Provenance

Matthew Uzielli (1805-1860), London.
C.W. King (1818-1888), London.
M.H. Nevil Story-Maskelyne (1823-1911), Wroughton, Wiltshire, acquired from the above, 1860-1899; thence by descent to his son-in-law, William Arnold-Forster (1886-1951), Cornwall.
Catalogue of the Story-Maskelyne Collection of Ancient Gems, the Property of W.E. Arnold Forster, Esq., Sotheby's, London, 4-5 July 1921, lot 152.
Landsberg, acquired from the above (according to auctioneer's book).
Marjorie Bronfman (1917-2012), Montreal, acquired by 1978; gifted to her daughter, Dr. Corinne Bronfman (1947-2022), Washington, D.C.; thence by descent to the current owner.

Literature

C.W. King, Antique Gems and Rings, London, 1872, vol. II, p. 74, copper plate III, no. 28.

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

At the center of this lively scene are two cocks, one with its head lowered, the other raised as if crowing in victory. Their winged owners stand behind them, one holding a palm branch, symbolic of victory, the other beating his brow in rage, seemingly urging his bird to continue the fight. It is mounted as a ring in a late 18th century gold setting, with an octagonal bezel grooved on its outer edges. The type is thought to be associated with William Beckford of Somerley, who travelled in Italy in 1770-1771 (see p. 27 in T. Heneage, “Beckford’s Collection of Engraved Gems: Evidence and Hearsay,” The Beckford Journal, vol. 22, 2022).

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