LOT 0180

Roman Imperial Silver Ring with Carnelian Gemstone with Gryllos

2ND CENTURY A.D.

7/8 in. (8.83 grams, 22.17 mm overall, 16.02 x 13.65 mm internal diameter (approximate size British H 1/2, USA 4, Europe 6.81, Japan 6)).

Comprising a D-section hoop expanding at the shoulders, set with an intaglio with a composite animal figure (gryllos) advancing on a baseline, wearing a bridled horse protome with a twig in its mouth, a silen's mask on the breast, the tail formed as a ram's head with a twig in its mouth, and the legs of a cockerel.

UK private collection, acquired on the English market in the 2000s.

Cf. Boardman, J., Classical Phoenician Scarabs: A Catalogue and Study, Oxford, 2003, cat. no. 37/18 Tharros pl. 59e (BM ANE 133440), London no. 407, for a similarly-themed motif of a facing bearded head, with an African head to one side over a boar forepart; Boardman, J., 'Greek Gem Engravers, Their Subjects and Style' in Ancient Art in Seals: Essays by Pierre Amiet, Nimet Özgüç, and John Boardman, edited and introduced by Porada, E., Princeton, 1980, 113-114, for discussion.