"Caligula's" Sapphire Ring 4 Sale

Amazing ring. wow. Thanks for sharing it.

 

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She ought to like that one. Not at all distracting, and only took 7 min. to load.

 

...truly an artist..

 

It's doubtful that such a ring could have been crafted 2000 years ago.
I am re-reading the article. There is provenance, but then it sort of disappears, and when it reemerges, who's to say it's one of the Marlborough gems? And then to sell for only 750 pounds?
If there is anyway to age test this thing without damaging it, etc.

 

If that provenance could be validated, I'd add a zero or two to the price but it sounds skeptical to me.

 

I think the claim that it might have belonged to Caligula is quite sensationalist, but one way to test the age non-destructively would be to microscopically analyze how the gem was cut. I'm unsure whether the gold could be tested non-destructively.

 

I am skeptical as well. The hairstyle doesn't look like anything I have seen from the Julio-Claudians. It looks vaguely Antonine, but even there the closest parallel I could see would be Faustina Maior but even there I see some problems. The pearl band? seems to be awkward. Sestertius of Faustina Maior (lifetime issue) 139 A.D. Rv Juno standing left. RIC 1077a 24.80 grms 32 mm

 

Is it just me or does that ring look horribly uncomfortable? It's way too thick, and would certainly get in teh way. I wouldn't want to wear that ring for any length of time, except, maybe, to impress the ladies

 

People were much smaller in Rome 2000 years ago,
but a man's ring from then, could fit a woman today, and the model wearing the
ring doesn't have thick fingers.
Did they have the tools and technique to cut and carve this stone 2000 years ago?

 

It's nice and all but does little for me personally. Aesthetically it's got nothing on the 3,500 year old Pylos Combat Agate which was already ancient when the ring was made. Maybe very ancient if the ring was made in the 1600s.

 

Confirmation on the provenance would make the difference between this being a very expensive ancient ring and virtually priceless - IIRC, there are no extant artefacts with a confirmed provenance of belonging to a Roman emperor, only their high ranking officials.

 

Thats awesome