Old Ring

keyman616

Newbie
Jul 5, 2010
3
0
Found this ring and it seems old. Can anyone shed some light on it? I don't see any identifying marks on it. The top is about the diameter of a US quarter, it fits on my pinky finger so I am guessing a size 10 (my ring finger is a 14). Some have said it could be roman/greek because of the way the eyes and nose are on the intaglio, but no one can identify who it is. I have also heard from late 1700's to mid 1800's because of the design. It is pretty solid from what I can tell and has a little weight to it. The top half of the back side (part making contact with the skin) of the ring has a dent in it, this is behind the head of the intaglio.
 

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Looks like a carnelian gemstone, imitating the Roman type stones, however the ring is not copying the Roman style, so its a strange mix :-\ Looks quite modern to me but interesting.
 

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CRUSADER said:
Looks like a carnelian gemstone, imitating the Roman type stones, however the ring is not copying the Roman style, so its a strange mix :-\ Looks quite modern to me but interesting.

Thank you for that. I have sent emails to all the major auction houses with pictures and haven't been able to get much from them. I also sent some emails to different professors are Harvard and Cambridge who teach various genres of history and not much there either. I have looked all over the place trying to identify the person in the ring, but no luck. It is a stumper for me, and I only found this site today. I am trying to email some museums, but seem to get caught in some automated email loops that don't get anywhere.
 

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keyman616 said:
CRUSADER said:
Looks like a carnelian gemstone, imitating the Roman type stones, however the ring is not copying the Roman style, so its a strange mix :-\ Looks quite modern to me but interesting.

Thank you for that. I have sent emails to all the major auction houses with pictures and haven't been able to get much from them. I also sent some emails to different professors are Harvard and Cambridge who teach various genres of history and not much there either. I have looked all over the place trying to identify the person in the ring, but no luck. It is a stumper for me, and I only found this site today. I am trying to email some museums, but seem to get caught in some automated email loops that don't get anywhere.

Its well crafted but I'm pretty sure its made out to look older than it is. I have seen very similar fake Roman style rings on ebay. The goddess type head is probably a generic mixture & not close to any particular person/god. This may not have been made to fool people, as its an odd mixture, but just to be a differently crafted piece for someone to buy/love & wear.

forgot, welcome to Tnet :hello:
 

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CRUSADER said:
keyman616 said:
CRUSADER said:
Looks like a carnelian gemstone, imitating the Roman type stones, however the ring is not copying the Roman style, so its a strange mix :-\ Looks quite modern to me but interesting.

Thank you for that. I have sent emails to all the major auction houses with pictures and haven't been able to get much from them. I also sent some emails to different professors are Harvard and Cambridge who teach various genres of history and not much there either. I have looked all over the place trying to identify the person in the ring, but no luck. It is a stumper for me, and I only found this site today. I am trying to email some museums, but seem to get caught in some automated email loops that don't get anywhere.

Its well crafted but I'm pretty sure its made out to look older than it is. I have seen very similar fake Roman style rings on ebay. The goddess type head is probably a generic mixture & not close to any particular person/god. This may not have been made to fool people, as its an odd mixture, but just to be a differently crafted piece for someone to buy/love & wear.

forgot, welcome to Tnet :hello:

I have been getting that feeling that maybe it is a replica or something. It is turning the skin on my finger a different color if I wear it for any length of time ... darker green color. Anyway, guess I'm not striking it rich today then :)

Glad to be here, pretty neat site.
 

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keyman616 said:
CRUSADER said:
keyman616 said:
CRUSADER said:
Looks like a carnelian gemstone, imitating the Roman type stones, however the ring is not copying the Roman style, so its a strange mix :-\ Looks quite modern to me but interesting.

Thank you for that. I have sent emails to all the major auction houses with pictures and haven't been able to get much from them. I also sent some emails to different professors are Harvard and Cambridge who teach various genres of history and not much there either. I have looked all over the place trying to identify the person in the ring, but no luck. It is a stumper for me, and I only found this site today. I am trying to email some museums, but seem to get caught in some automated email loops that don't get anywhere.

Its well crafted but I'm pretty sure its made out to look older than it is. I have seen very similar fake Roman style rings on ebay. The goddess type head is probably a generic mixture & not close to any particular person/god. This may not have been made to fool people, as its an odd mixture, but just to be a differently crafted piece for someone to buy/love & wear.

forgot, welcome to Tnet :hello:

I have been getting that feeling that maybe it is a replica or something. It is turning the skin on my finger a different color if I wear it for any length of time ... darker green color. Anyway, guess I'm not striking it rich today then :)

Glad to be here, pretty neat site.

Thats the giveaway, must be silver plated with a copper core. This is common for the copies, although with the price of some antiquities they do use solid silver & solid gold..
 

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Could be carnelian, or just glass. These were popular in the Classical Revival period (late 1700's-early 1800's) and the Colonial Revival (1876-now). A lot of "interesting" interpretations of classical items were made in the 1920's–30's. Yours would fit right in there. The bust is generic, so no ID possible.
 

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