Roman Gold Ring with Cult of Jupiter Dolichenus Bull Gemstone

2ND CENTURY A.D.

1 in. (4.41 grams, 26.31 mm overall, 18.49 mm internal diameter (approximate size British Q 1/2, USA 8 1/4, Europe 18.12, Japan 17)).

A solid, smooth gold ring with D-shaped hoop, oval carnelian intaglio with a bull surmounted by a star; repaired.

Provenance

Acquired 1970-2000s.
Ex Abelita family collection.

Literature

Cf. Beutler, F. et al., Der Adler Roms. Carnuntum und der Armee der Cäsaren, Bad-Deutsch Altenberg, 2017, item 153, for type; for the Dolichenus cult see Kusseven, P., The Cult of Iupiter Dolichenus: origins and iconography, Ankara, 2007, p.120, fig.B15.

Footnotes

The bull, symbol of thunder and fertility, was an important component of the cult of Jupiter Dolichenus, to which this ring is probably connected. The god is usually represented as standing on a bull holding an axe in his upraised right hand and a bolt of lightning in the left. This bull perpetuated the connection with storms, a frequent and rather obvious identification of power and ferocity. This was a Hittite concept inherited from the Anatolians and then by the Romans.

CONDITION

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LOT 0144