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Details
LOT 0738
Roman Bronze Ring with Sol Invictus
CIRCA 2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.
3/4 in. (3.72 grams, 21.78 mm overall, 18.22 mm internal diameter (approximate size British K, USA 5 1/4, Europe 9.95, Japan 9)).
Composed of a carinated hoop and oval bezel set with a glass intaglio crowned bust facing left.
Provenance
Acquired 1990s-early 2000s.
East Anglian private collection.
Literature
Cf. Humer, F., Kremer, G., Pollhammer, E., Pülz, A., AD 313 Von Carnuntum zum Christentum, Bad Voslau, 2014, nos.40, for similar gemstones representing the Sol Invictus.
Footnotes
The portrait could be interpreted as wearing a radiated crown, thus an image of Sol Invictus, common in gems for rings of the 3rd century A.D., where the young face of the Sun-Helios is often visible in profile, looking to the left, with the radiate crown on his head. The cult of Sol Invictus was favoured by the Illyrian emperors and elevated in Rome by Aurelian to one of the premier divinities of the Empire.
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