A precious and rare sapphyre intaglio, mounted on a gold, Renaissance ring. A bust of Emperor Hadrian. The effigy of the roman emperor is turned to the right and shows a non-laureate head, with a draped bust. The face is the typical one from the ancient production, in the non-laureate version, and has been taken after roman coinage classic prototypes (see gold coinages); the profile is correct, and carefully made; the face is framed by a hatched beard and a thick, wavy hair, which is following the same structure of those on roman coins, with the same alternation between the concave and convex hair volumes, following a certain refinement. The drapery falls down naturally and spontaneously on the emperor's bust. Considering the very small size and the extreme hardness of the stone, the intaglio has been carried out with great artistry and technical competence. The subject, usual within both glyptics and numismatics during the roman era, was particularly favourite during the Renaissance, being reproduced by both engravers and medallists, not always maintaining the effigy's classical and ancient look, but reflecting the time's taste as well. Indeed, what seems to be varying the most, during the Renaissance period, is the emperor's face expressiveness; instead, in less frequent cases, like in the one of this sapphyre intaglio, that latent and not very accentuated strict (but serene at the same time) expressive semblance , typical of the ancients, is skilfully kept (see the production of medallist Giovanni da Cavino, 1500-1570, and the son of a goldsmith. Especially known are his imitations of ancient coins with imperial portraits on. The quality of his works has made it hard to identify them as fakes. Anyway, the finding of several coinages has made it possible to identify them and to study Cavino's stylistic features. Some details in his style prove to be close to the features of the sapphyre intaglio we are talking about, e.g. those of the ear. We also refer to the production of medallist Valerio Belli Vicentino,1468c. - 1456, and his contemporaries, for the "medaglie all'antica"). The sapphyre, of an exceptional quality, is characterized by a fine, intense colour and brightness; the back of the bezel is faceted, as it used to be in 16th century. A specific mention is for the peculiar gold mounting, apparently unprecedented. The gem is surrounded by a smooth, rounded border; the sides of the gold set show decorations which have been chiselled with a vegetable pattern, according to the ancient style (leaves vertically positioned, the points directed upwards). The hoop, starting from the bottom, is smooth and thin. Going up to the bezel the hoop transforms, on each side, in a naked mythological figure. On one side the figure is a female, with tied hair, on the other is a male, bearded (Nereid and Triton?). Both figures are holding the bezel up, in a typical mannerist pose, caracterized by an accentuated twist, typical in the representational production of that period. In the Beverley glyptics collection at Alnwick Castle there is a precious ruby intaglio (female head), set in a ring with sculptural ornaments, made of a group of three puttos on each of the oval endings (a total of six figures), holding the bezel up. This ring was accompanied by the note: "Ring set by Benvenuto Cellini". The famous artist (1500-1571) can indeed be considered as the master of "representational jewelry" during the Reanissance. His style and inventions will influence ring projects by the skilled french engraver, goldsmith, sculptor and medallist Pierre Woeiriot (1532-1599 ) in the Livre des Anneaux (Lione 1561). Many of his models, indeed, provided for several figures to hold the bezel up, e.g. animal protomes, children, young and old men. Woelriot designs many rings where, at the bottom, the hoop is narrow, thin and smooth, its thickness growing as getting closer to the bezel, evolving into sculptural figures. For comparisons: D. Scarisbrick, C. Wagner, J. Boardman, The Beverley collection of gems at Alnwick Castle, p. 267 n. 251. For any insights and bibliographical refences: Adriano. Architettura e progetto, catalogo della mostra, 2000, pp.250 ss.; R. Mambella, Adriano. L'uomo e l'artista; Le gemme dei Medici al Museo degli Argenti. Cammei e intagli nelle collezioni di Palazzo Pitti (coordinamento Ornella Casazza), 2007 (ristampa 2010), p. 237 n. 198, p. 250 n. 230; C. Evers, Les Portraits d'Hadrien: typologie et ateliers, in "Collection des Mémoires de la Classe des Beaux-Arts" in -8°. 3e série, T. VII, Bruxelles, 1994; Valerio Belli vicentino.1468 c.-1546, a cura di H. Burns, M. Collareta, D. Gasparotto, p. 137- 264. Second half of the 16th century.
Intaglio 7 x 9 x 4 mm; ring diam. 19 mm; gr. 12,13.