Gold and Hardstone Cameo Ring

The portrait head, facing right, with short hair and clean shaven, in a later ring mount, ring size 8 length 29mm, width 16mm

In white and black, Hercules depicted strangling the lion, his club on the ground, in a later ring mount, ring size H, length 32mm, width 25mm Size: 12 Weight: ...

The classical head facing left, clean shaven with short curling hair, in a later ring mount, ring size 8, length 30mm, width 20mm Weight : 29,4gr

The portrait head of Seneca, in a later ring mount, ring size 11 , length 27mm, width mm22 Weight:26.4gr.

Gold and silver ring with a cameo on agate stylizing a Nubian. Size 5 1/2. Weight: 7,4g.

Agate cameo depicting a bearded man in profile (25mm x 20mm) mounted in silver and gold. Finger size 8 3/4 Weight : 16.8gr

A Georgian hardstone cameo ring, the oval-shaped cameo depicting the profile of a patrician, rub-over set within a yellow gold mount with ridged d...

A Georgian hardstone cameo ring, the oval-shaped layered agate cameo, measuring approximately 27 by 17mm, and depicting the finely carved profile ...

This beautiful Victorian 14k gold cameo ring, circa the turn of the century, features the profile of a helmeted warrior carved out of red sardonyx....

A very unusual antique gold ring set with a carved brown and white hardstone cameo depicting the theatrical comic mask of Silenus, the Greek mythological old rustic god of wine-making and drunkenness. The ring was made in the late 19th century and carries French control marks for 18K gold, whilst the cameo is probably Italian and made slightly earlier, circa 1800. Silenus was a companion to the wine god Dionysus, and suitably he was a notorious consumer of wine, usually drunk and supported by satyrs or carried by a donkey. Silenus was described as the oldest, wisest and most drunken of the followers of Dionysus, and was said to possess special knowledge and the power of prophecy when intoxicated. He presides over the other satyrs and is related to musical creativity, prophetic ecstasy, drunken joy and drunken dances. Silenus was usually depicted as a jovial old man, bald yet bearded, with a pot-belly, thick lips and snub-nose. The masks worn to play him in theatre really emphasised these features, as you can see with this cameo carving Theatre was a key part of ancient Greek culture. The theatrical masks worn by the actors, known as ‘prosopon’, served various purposes. They enabled individual actors to play multiple roles (or genders) in the same performance; the exaggerated expressions helped define the character being portrayed; they helped spectators in the back rows to tell the characters apart. This particular masked as mentioned before is a comedic Silenus, please see final photo for other examples of Silenus masks in museum collections. UK size N 1/2, US size 7 4.84g 18K gold French ‘tête...

A large carved agate cameo ring depicting the Roman emperor Vespasian (9 - 79 AD). The high carat gold mounting is late 19th Century. The cameo is Italian, early 18th century. The...

This lovely ring started life as a stick pin but I changed it into a lovely ring. This portrait of a lady is carved on top this hardstone and a nice everyday ring. The size is six ...