ROMAN GOLD RING AND CARNELIAN INTAGLIO DEPICTING FORTUNA REDUX
Ca. 100-300 AD.
A gold ring with oval-shaped carnelian intaglio engraved with a standing profile figure of Fortuna, her head facing right, she is holding a steering oar and cornucopia. From the Roman Republic onwards it became customary for all the chief magistrates and senators, to wear gold rings, known in Latin as annulus aureus, as a way to distinct themselves from the mass of the people. A symbol of high social status. This intaglio holds the depiction of the goddess Fortuna, who is bearing a cornucopia, symbol of abundance, and a steering oar, symbol of her control over human destinies. Fortuna was not only the personification of good fortune and chance, but was also worshipped as the protector of cities. Cf. G. M. A. Richter, Catalogue of Engraved Gems - Greek, Etruscan and Roman, Plate XLVII, nos. 366-367.
Size: D:14.48mm / US: 3 1/2 / UK: G; 8g
Provenance: Property of a North London gentleman; previously acquire on the UK/European art market in the 1990s
Estimate: GBP 750 - 1500