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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2012.1.15
Title
Gold Signet Ring
Classification
Jewelry
Work Type
ring
Date
3rd-4th century
Period
Roman Imperial period, Late
Culture
Roman
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/178520

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Gold
Technique
Hammered
Dimensions
1.7 cm (11/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Walton Brooks McDaniel, New Jersey (?-1943/46), gift; to the Department of the Classics, Harvard University (1943/46-2012), transfer; to the Harvard Art Museums, 2012.

Note: Walton Brooks McDaniel gave a portion of his collection to the Department of the Classics in 1943 and the rest in 1946. The Collection is named for his late wife, Alice Corinne McDaniel.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Transfer from the Alice Corinne McDaniel Collection, Department of the Classics, Harvard University
Accession Year
2012
Object Number
2012.1.15
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
The gold hoop of the ring is in the shape of joined beads. A garnet intaglio is inset in an oval bezel. The gem depicts a man standing right, wearing a helmet, cloak, and tunic, perhaps representing the god Mars.
Commentary
A ring of this type, with an intaglio carving, would have been worn as a signet ring.

Publication History

  • John Crawford, Sidney Goldstein, George M. A. Hanfmann, John Kroll, Judith Lerner, Miranda Marvin, Charlotte Moore, and Duane Roller, Objects of Ancient Daily Life. A Catalogue of the Alice Corinne McDaniel Collection Belonging to the Department of the Classics, Harvard University, ed. Jane Waldbaum, Department of the Classics (unpublished manuscript, 1970), M214, p. 219-20 [M. C. Marvin]

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu