This Genuine Ancient Seal Has Been Set in a Modern 18 Karat White 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 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.

The image carved onto the polished surface of this precious gemstone most likely represents the Roman Goddess of agriculture and grain, Ceres. She is equated with the Greek goddess Demeter and is closely identified with Tellus, the Roman goddess of the earth. Agriculture gave birth to civilization. The annual harvesting of grains and vegetables allowed nomadic tribes to become sedentary. It is therefore quite natural that the acts of agriculture became personified in a deity. Ceres controlled the health of the harvest and therefore the health of the people. It has been said that the quality of a culture’s daily bread is directly related to their quality of life. Thus Ceres may not be one of the most celebrated goddesses, but she is surely one of the most essential to the well-being of the Roman people.