ROMAN GOLD RING WITH VENUS STONE INTAGLIO
Ca. 100-300 AD.
A beautiful gold finger ring with a circular hoop and a slender bezel set with a stone intaglio engraved with a depiction of partially robed Venus, turned left. The ancient Roman deity of beauty, love, desire, and sex, Venus is often perceived as the equivalent of the Greek goddess Aphrodite. However, like in the case of some of the earlier mentioned Roman gods, Venus as a divine entity possibly epitomized more aspects than her Greek counterpart – since she was also regarded as the goddess of victory and fertility (and possibly even prostitution). In any case, it was the embodiment of the concepts of beauty, sex, and desire that formed the core of her attributes, so much so that the Latin noun venus also meant ‘sexual love’ or sexual desire.
Size: D:14.68mm / US: 4 3/4 / UK: J; 2g
Provenance: Property of a North London gentleman; previously acquire on the UK/European art market in the 1990s
Estimate: GBP 750 - 1500