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Description: | A Roman cast copper alloy finger ring. In plan the ring is a crescentic shape and is at its widest at the bezel. The terminals are blunt broken points at the apex of the hoop. In section the hoop and shoulders are an oval shape. The surface of the finger ring has incomplete heavy gilding. The bezel has an oval cell which is filled with an oval intaglio made of nicolo. The intaglio has a slight bevelled edge and stands slightly proud of the copper alloy frame. The design engraved on the intaglio has been identified by Prof. Martin Henig as depicting a standing figure of Fortuna or Concordia holding a patera and a cornucopia. The ring measures 26.25mm wide across the loop and 9.52mm long across the bezel, from the bezel to the back of the loop it is 20.11mm and it weighs 9.5g. Henig (pers comm.) comments that the intaglio is a shape F4, and the finger is a type II/III therefore dating it to the mid third quarter of the 2nd century AD. The intaglio is quite a common type, Henig (2007 A Corpus of Roman Engraved Gemstones from British Sites, BAR Brit ser.8, 3rd edn.) illustrates other examples, Nos. 328-336, in particular Nos. 333, 334 respectively from Corbridge and London.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
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