Glass ring
Translucent pale yellow
Broad, irregular hoop, made by folding, with ends pressed together under bezel; flat, irregular, oval bezel, to which a second layer of glass has been added.
On bezel, second layer with portrait head in high relief: male head facing right, wearing wreath, tied at back, with short wavy hair; around head, clockwise inscription reading Divo Claudio Imperato(ri).
Intact, but weathered chip on bezel below man's chin; dulling, slight pitting, and iridescent weathering.
The inscription identifies the portrait as that of the deified emperor Claudius (r. A.D. 41–54) but the ring may have been made much later, perhaps in the short reign of the emperor Claudius Gothicus (r. A.D. 268–270), who was also deified by the Senate on his death.
Broad, irregular hoop, made by folding, with ends pressed together under bezel; flat, irregular, oval bezel, to which a second layer of glass has been added.
On bezel, second layer with portrait head in high relief: male head facing right, wearing wreath, tied at back, with short wavy hair; around head, clockwise inscription reading Divo Claudio Imperato(ri).
Intact, but weathered chip on bezel below man's chin; dulling, slight pitting, and iridescent weathering.
The inscription identifies the portrait as that of the deified emperor Claudius (r. A.D. 41–54) but the ring may have been made much later, perhaps in the short reign of the emperor Claudius Gothicus (r. A.D. 268–270), who was also deified by the Senate on his death.
Artwork Details
- Title: Glass ring
- Period: Late Imperial
- Date: ca. 3rd century CE
- Culture: Roman
- Medium: Glass, yellow; drawn, tooled, and stamped
- Dimensions: 1 3/8 × 1 1/16 × 1 5/16 in. (3.5 × 2.6 × 3.4 cm)
- Classification: Gems
- Credit Line: Edward C. Moore Collection, Bequest of Edward C. Moore, 1891
- Object Number: 91.1.1514
- Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art
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3rd–2nd century BCE
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3rd–2nd century BCE
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after 1805
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