Finger Ring with Cast Gem Depicting a Basket and Cockerels

AAT Object Form/Functionrings (finger jewelry)

AAT Object Form/Functionimitation gemstone

AAT Object Techniqueintaglios (sculptural objects)

AAT Object Techniquecasting (process)

AAT Object Form/Functionfigures (representations)

Place FoundIran, Asia

CultureRoman

Periodearly Imperial

Dateearly 1st Century CE

MediumGlass (manufactured); gilding; bronze

Credit LineGift of the Estate of Michael J. Shubin

DimensionsOverall: 1/2 × 3/8 in., 1/8 oz. (1.3 × 1 cm, 3.06 g) Hoop diameter (Internal): 3/4 in. (1.9 cm)

Object number2012.032.151

Label TextThis glass gem, with alternating green, blue and white bands, imitates fluorspar, a crystalline mineral known in antiquity as myrrhina. Sourced within the Parthian kingdom (ancient Iran), the stone was highly prized by wealthy Romans for its exotic provenance, striking bands of color, which changed intensity and hue in shifting light, and perfume (Pliny Natural History 37.21-22). Rome’s super-rich reportedly spent outrageous sums on vessels carved from the stone, including the emperor Nero, who is said to have paid 1,000,000 sesterces for one bowl (Pliny Natural History 37.20). Imitation myrrhina gems allowed less affluent buyers to claim the same fashionable luxury for themselves, in this case enhanced by the addition of gilding to the incised image. The motif shows two cockerels flanking a basket loaded with fruit and grain, symbolizing abundance. Cockerels were associated with Mercury, god of opportunity and commerce, and so the motif may have expressed the wearer’s private hopes for increased prosperity – enough perhaps to transform a faux myrrhina gem into a real one.
Exhibition HistoryMaking an Impression: The Art and Craft of Ancient Engraved Gemstones, Michael C. Carlos Museum, August 27 - November 27, 2022

ProvenanceEx coll. Michael Shubin (1950-2008), Montebello, California, acquired September 13, 1997.

Status

Not on view

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