Genuine Roman onyx intaglio (2nd cent. AD) depicting a "marsus" (snake charmer)

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Genuine Roman onyx intaglio (2nd cent. AD) depicting a "marsus" (snake charmer)

About the Item

An authentic Roman intaglio on onyx has been set in this 18 Kt gold ring, which depicts a "Marsus", or a snake charmer, in the act of capturing one. In ancient Rome they were called "marsus", magicians capable of ordering reptiles and making them tame. The ancient Marsi, brave and intrepid warriors who aroused the profound admiration of Rome during the Social War or "Marsicana" (91-88 BC) were equally endowed with magical powers and regarded as famous doctors who treated the sick with medicinal herbs from the surrounding mountains . According to a legend, their ancestor was Marsyas, follower of Cybele, goddess of freedom, a lineage suited to the race that offered fierce resistance to the proud Rome, ruler of the world. According to another, very common version, the Marsi descended from Marsus, son of Circe, sister of Angizia who exercised her magical powers in the woods of Pinna (Luco), in Lake Fucino, where the famous school for learning spells. It is said that the emperor Heliogabalus had large quantities of snakes captured by Marsi charmers and one day ordered them to be suddenly thrown into the Circus, while the population was gathered there to watch the gymnastics matches. Those who were bitten fled in terror, although not all snakes had a fatal bite. Muzio Febonio, (Avezzano, 13 July 1597 – Pescina, 3 January 1663) was an Italian religious and historian of the Marsi, wrote many years later: "In the areas around Pinna (Luco dei Marsi), there is such an abundance of snakes that descend from the mountains to the lake (of Fucino), where they can be seen twisted around the stones like tendrils around the vines, or on the rocky ledges overlooking the lake, basking in the sun. From this mysterious mountain is dug what is commonly called "sealed earth " which has the prodigious power of being an antidote against poison and to keep snakes, mice and insects away from houses and fields. The same author adds that Don Paolo Ciarallo, Archpriest of Bisignano (Bisegna), belonging to the ancient Marsi family, had, like his entire lineage, the power to capture snakes and cure their bites with simple saliva. The members of this family had the effigy of a snake on their shoulder. The snake has a long history and important meanings. Capable of connecting the world of the living with the world of the dead, it belongs to both at the same time: it takes refuge in the humid belly of the earth, in the subsoil and in the dark ravines; but it also finds a home on the branches of trees, among the tangles of roots and bushes, in the water... Its moult makes it a symbol of rebirth, of regeneration, because the fact of "shedding its skin" makes it representative of healing, of the change towards a new life. Its long and secret winter hibernation assimilates it to Mother Earth who in the cold months closes herself in a seemingly endless sleep and then returns to life. A perpetual cycle of death, rebirth and life; of sleep and awakening, of darkness and light. A positive symbol, therefore. And for these virtues it is associated with medicine, with the power to heal others. It is no coincidence that we find it wrapped in soft coils along the staff of Asclepius (renamed Aesculapius by the Romans), the mythical son of Apollo dedicated to the medical art.

Creator:
SERRA
Ring Size:
6.5 US, Resizable
Stone:
Onyx
Stone Cut:
Oval Cut
Style:
Classical Roman
Place of Origin:
Italy
Period:
2010-
Date of Manufacture:
2023
Condition:
Seller Location:
Roma, IT
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU1922221457402