This Intaglio is Set in a 24 Karat Gold Rin
The art of glyptics, or carving 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 BC in Mesopotamia and the Aegean Islands. They display 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.

Due to an increase in the number of collectors with a passion for Greek and Roman history, the eighteenth century saw a revival of interest in jewelry created in the c1assical style. Master engravers from England and France traveled to Italy in search of models to study. They made countless drawings of marble statuary and ancient coins often found in private collections. This pure and elegant style can be seen in this lovely intaglio, showing the noble head of a woman. The fact there is a spear in the background suggests she is Athena, who carried a spear and wore a helmet. Her powerful expression is also suitable to the goddess of war. However, Athena had her softer side in her role presiding over art and literature, and as patroness of spinners, embroiderers and weavers. This blend of strength and gentleness is equaled in this superb ring, which is both powerful and delicate; resplendent in its gold setting and destined to shine for centuries to come.