Mounted in a stunning 18 karat gold ring.

Gem engraving is a miniaturistic art form whereby designs are cut into or on the surface of a gem. Intaglios, gemstones with an incised design below the surface of the gem, were made as early as the fourth and third millennia B.C. In Mesopotamia and the Aegean. However, it was in ancient Greece and Rome that the expressive and aesthetic language of gem engraving was truly born. The classic artisans carried engraving to an artistic level higher than ever seen before, borrowing their diverse themes from epic poetry and famous legends of gods and heroes. In this stunning example, created during the later classical revival period, we see spirited beauty and exceptional craftsmanship displayed in a red jasper intaglio depicting the combined images of the Greek god Zeus the goddess Athena. Here the artist has skillfully portrayed Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war, complete with war helmet atop her sculpted head. A closer look at the helmet, however, reveals that it is also the profiled, bearded image of Zeus. How apropos that Athena is portrayed as a part of the head of Zeus, for legend has it that the birth of Athena was quite unusual--she is said to have sprung full grown out of the head of her Olympian father, Zeus. Thus, the artist has captured a moment in mythological history in a most captivating fashion, adapting the ancient legend to the gemstone medium that he was so skilled at engraving.