Glass ring
Not on view
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.
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