A Late roman gold ring with convex amethyst bezel.
Bezel 12 x 15 mm; ring internal size 17 x 19,5 mm; gr. 6,95
The flat hoop is entirely chiselled with a veined leaf decoration (palmette motif), with spherical details engraved in the recess. The bezel, which contains the stone, is decorated with the same motif and has four small spheres welded to the sides of the hoop (typically late Roman decoration). The cabochon amethyst is mirror polished and is characterized by an extraordinary vivid color. Attractive specimen in a very good condition. Rare typology. A similar vegetal decoration engraved with the same technique and style is present on a specimen in the British Museum collection (inv. No. 1981.0201.2): gold ring with chiseled hoop and bezel in engraved amethyst, Roman-British art, from a treasure recovered at Thetford-Norfolk in 1979. The decorations engraved on the hoop were not necessarily the prerogative of late antiquity (cf. Marshall 1907, nos. 464 and 465), but they are in line with the trends of the period for the preference for the worked metal surfaces rather than smooth (see Johns and Potter (1983) 'The Thetford Treasure: Roman Jewelery and Silver' Cat. 2).
4th century AD.