This antique seal has been set in an modern 22 karat gold ring.

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.
Of the immense pantheon of Greek gods, Pan is one of the most impish and delightful. He is half-man and half-goat, from the region of Arcadia in Greece. Essentially, he is the god of shepherds, inhabiting caves in the mountains far from human habitation, though known to make an occasional appearance in cities. He was most famous for being very amorous, with a special fondness for nymphs bathing by streams. This wonderful intaglio shows a prancing Pan carrying what appears to be his trademark shepherd's crook and branch of pine leaves. The exquisitely designed ring perfectly suits bath the delicate ornateness of the 18th century and the twirling movements of Pan. The wearer of this ring is certainly someone with the taste and sensibilities to appreciate the wonder and magic of mythical times.