This Intaglio is Set in an 18 Karat Gold Rin
The art of glyptics, or carving images on colored precious stones, is probably one of the oldest known to humanity. Intaglios, gems with an incised design, were made as early as the fourth and third millennia B.C. in Mesopotamia and the Aegean Islands. They exhibit a virtuosity of execution that suggests an old and stable tradition rooted in the earliest centuries. The tools required for carving gems were simple: a wheel with a belt-drive and a set of drills. Abrasives were necessary since the minerals used were too hard for a metal edge. A special difficulty of engraving intaglios, aside from their miniature size, was that the master had to work with a mirror-image in mind.
Universally admired, Marcus Aurelius (reigned AD 161 - 180) was one of those very rare individuals who combined intellect with compassion and wisdom. As a philosopher-ruler he managed to keep the empire strong, particularly against incursions of German tribes on the Danube, where he spent much of his reign. During the long, cold days on the frontier he composed his famous meditations on life and the ways of the gods. This very fine intaglio shows the noble profile of Marcus, wearing a laurel Clown and a curled beard. Intaglio rings were occasionally presented to important individuals of the court, and it is exciting to imagine this intaglio might have been touched by the emperor himself.