Roman Gold Ring with Glass Inlay

Comprising eleven gemstones with various motifs, including: a cameo with a face, a profile bust wearing a filet, an insect with a stinger, a bust of Minerva, a lion on a baseline, a helmetted head of a warrior, a harvesting scene, two with a bird(?), an advancing nude female with an inscription before, and one inscribed 'ZEEL'. 5.33 grams total, 7-13 mm



Private collection, London.

Ellipsoid in plan with an engraved scene of a cockerel copulating with a hen, inscription above. 0.62 grams, 14 mm



Property of a European gentleman, acquired from the estate of a London collector (formed before 2000).

In ancient Rome, a cockerel, Latin gallus, was a symbol of virility and fertility. But gallus (plural galli) was also the term for a religious devotee and later for a priest of Cybele (Magna Mater). Often eunuchs, they performed ecstatic dances and rituals, sometimes even engaging in sexual acts as part of their religious practices. In Rome, the head of the Cybele priests was the archigallus, chosen by the quindecimviri sacris faciundis. Reliefs show that the archigallus was wearing luxurious and extravagant costumes and jewellery. This unique gemstone can be attributed to such an archigallus. The cult of Cybele/Magna Mater and the presence of galli also spread to Roman Britain, where it is attested, e.g. in Catterick and Corbridge.

Ellipsoid with carved standing bull in profile; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 0.64 grams, 14 mm



with Gorny & Mosch, Munich, Auction 145, 14 December 2005, no.205.