Handsome Carved Hardstone Intaglio Ring

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...

Centering an square tablet of banded agate measuring approximately 10.4 x 10.2 mm Translucent with a frosted white top and a black base Deeply carved to depict a winged griffin, fier...

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...

Extremely stylish, this exquisite intaglio is masterfully engraved onto rich oval shaped Carnelian gemstone depicting a male profile with his head encircled with laurel The warm reddish brown colour of the Carnelian is perfectly complimented by the Yellow Gold of the shank . Timeless and chic, this early 1900s European Intaglio...

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....

Exceptionally rare and fashioned in the 2nd or 3rd century CE, the carved carnelian gemstone at the center of this ring hails from the Roman Empire. Displaying a rich red color and carved with the image of two Roman deities with a child, the creation exudes the glory of late antiquity. Each taking a classical contrapposto stance, the leftmost god appears crowned with laurels and grasping a staff, while the other appears nude. At their feet, an infant stretches his arms upward toward the divine figures. The crimson carnelian, more than a millennia-old, is set into a later 14K gold ring setting...