For Customers outside of USA

Large Genuine Ancient Roman (AD200) Engraved Semi-Precious Deep Red Carnelian Gemstone Intaglio (Seal) Depicting A Hound Dog Allegorical to The Goddess Diana with Initials "C.V."(?). (Loosely/Temporarily) Mounted into Contemporary Sterling Silver (14kt Gold Available) Ring.

CLASSIFICATION: Ancient Roman Intaglio Carved Red Carnelian Seal. Your Choice of a Sterling Silver Pendant or a Sterling Silver Ring (14kt Gold Also Available).

ATTRIBUTION: Eastern Roman Empire (Syria), 2nd Century A.D.

SIZE/MEASUREMENTS: 15mm (height) * 10mm (width) * 5mm (thickness).

WEIGHT: 8.36 carats.

CONDITION: Extremely good. Minor chipping only visible under magnification and invisible when set. Good polish.

CONTEMPORARY RING/PENDANT: A variety of sterling silver settings to select from which are included in the price. You may choose a sterling silver pendant setting (as shown), silver-plated chain included upon request. Or you may choose from available rings settings in common (whole) sizes (see here) (not all styles are available for this particular intaglio). Custom sizing available upon request. 14kt gold settings are available. Both sterling silver and 14kt gold chains are also available. For a more authentic touch, we also have available handcrafted Greek black leather cords. Please see examples of rings set with intaglio gemstones all the way toward the bottom of this page.

DETAIL: A very nicely preserved genuine Roman carved carnelian intaglio seal dating to the second or third century A.D. It is in excellent condition, though in hand it is far more beautiful than the images here suggest. It is a gorgeous, deep red, transparent semi-precious carnelian gemstone, exquisitely carved. Unfortunately the piece proved very difficult to image, and the pictures here really do not show just how gorgeous this ancient piece of art truly is. The color of the carnelian is a deep but bright reddish-orange. The depiction is that of a hunting hound, with the suggestion of foliage/shrubbery/grass at his feet and what look like clouds above. However the two clouds do form a rather distinct "C.V.", the letter "V" being the equivalent of the letter "U" to the ancient Romans (for instance "Julius" would be spelled Ivlivs". It could be that the "clouds" are actually the letters "C.V"., perhaps the initials or moniker for the original owner. Certainly the "C" could stand for "Claudius", or "Claudia" for that matter, a very common Roman name.

It is not surprising to find a dog represented on a Roman intaglio, especially when you consider that the dog was mankind's first domesticated animal. Even more significantly, Diana (or "Artemis" as she was known to the Greeks) was one of the most popular Goddesses in the Roman pantheon. Goddess of the hunt, and Goddess of the Moon, Diana was a very popular Goddess with many shrines and centers of worship throughout the Roman Empire, and especially in the Near East. This particular piece is exquisitely carved, the detail absolutely superb. The condition of the stone is remarkable, though there is minor chipping around the edge visible when the gemstone is magnified. However this is not visible to the naked eye, and certainly is not detectable when set.

Unbroken intaglio seals are rather difficult to come by and tend to be fairly costly (see here). We have set this seal into a sterling silver pendant, and will include the pendant free of charge (with a silver-plate chain if requested). However if you would prefer a ring, we will include a sterling silver ring at no additional cost in your choice of several available settings (see here) in a variety of standard sizes. Upon request both custom sizes and 14kt gold settings are available as well (as are 14kt gold and sterling silver chains if you prefer a pendant mounting. Either way, whether you prefer a pendant or a ring, we'll provide a basic setting in sterling silver at no additional charge.

Whether worn as a gold or silver ring, the carved carnelian intaglio is quite striking, and can be worn with elegance and distinction. In fact, in ancient Rome such intaglio carved carnelian gemstones were used to press the wearer's "seal" into lead, clay, or wax, leaving an impression. More often than not the seal was mounted into a ring as a bezel. Carnelian gemstones and jewelry were very popular throughout the Roman Empire, and carnelian was widely used to carve cameos and signet/intaglio rings. Aside from being quite beautiful, carnelian seals and signets had the practical advantage of not sticking to wax. The gemstone is shown mounted into a pendant setting, and it has been so set. This is the pendant setting you would receive if you wished. If you would like to see how this gemstone might appear in a ring, we have provided a number of examples of other mounted intaglio gemstones toward the bottom of this page, so you might appreciate how beautiful this ancient intaglio gemstone might be in a contemporary setting.

HISTORY: The Romans acquired their taste for carnelian, a beautifully colored reddish-orange semi-precious gemstone from the Phoenicians, who traded extensively in carnelian. Since before recorded history evidence suggests that carnelian was one of the most favored gemstones for at least the past 10,000 years. Two of the richest archaeological treasures, the tombs of both the Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamen and Sumerian Queen Pu-abi's tomb at Ur contained many splendid examples of carnelian jewelry. The red variety of carnelian was most popular in the ancient world. Carnelian was widely favored by the Sumerian/Mesopotamian cultures and then their successors the Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans for its use in jewelry. However it was just as popular for use in carved intaglio seals which originated in Mesopotamia (Sumeria) sometime in the 5th millennium B.C. The production of such incised carnelian seals was a highly developed art form by the 4th millennium B.C. There are many splendid examples of intaglio carnelian rings and signets produced by ancient Roman and Greek craftsmen still in existence today. A particularly noteworthy collection is housed at The Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Dogs were well represented in Greco-Roman Mythology, both generally and specifically. This particular portrayal might merely be that of a dog, or it might be an allegorical reference to Diana, "Bringer of Light, Moon Goddess, and Mother Goddess", known to the Greeks as "Artemis". The Roman regarded Diana as the twin sister of Apollo, and was regarded not only as the Goddess of the Hunt, but also the Moon Goddess as well. In Roman coinage she was often depicted with a bow and arrows, and oftentimes in the company of a stag or a hound. The most famous shrine of Diana was at Ephesus, mentioned in the Bible (Acts 19:27).

Ephesus was the greatest temple city in Asia Minor, and was the last of the Great Goddess Temples to remain open. It was the site of Goddess worship well into the Christian era. Diana's priestesses were all chaste, and the annual Festival of Diana was celebrated with daily music and dance and lasted for a month. Oftentimes the imperial coinage struck at Ephesus depicted the statue of Artemis or a temple containing the statue as a reverse. The cult of Artemis Ephesia was honored in many Greek cities, and many of these cities utilized a similar reverse theme for some of their coinage. Diana was often depicted running a hound or killing a stag in Roman mythological depictions.

Diana had three manifestations, Luna in the Heavens (the moon), Diana the Huntress on earth, and Diana Lucifera in the Underworld. Diana was the goddess of the moon and was called Diana Lucifera which means the Bringer of Light. The name Lucifera was also applied to the morning-star Venus. Diana was also linked to the Phoenician Goddess Astarte, one of the progenitor Mother Goddess's of the Mediterranean and Middle East. As well as being goddess of the moon, Diana was also protectress of forests (oak groves were considered to be Diana's sanctum), animals, and women in childbirth. Both a virgin goddess and an earth goddess, she was praised for her strength, athletic grace, beauty and her hunting skills. With two other deities she made up a trinity: Egeria the water nymph (her servant and assistant midwife), and Virbius (the woodland god).

Diana was worshiped at the Latin town of Aricia, near which is Lake Nemi, called "Diana's mirror." She was concerned with the life of women and was sometimes identified with Lucina, the birth-goddess more commonly identified with Juno. Through her identification with Artemis, she became goddess of the hunt and of the moon, and was further identified with Hecate as an Underworld goddess, as Diana Lucifera. At Aricia she was associated with a minor Italian deity, Virbius, who was identified with Hippolytus, brought to life again by Aesculapius. Her legend has reached recent history, as she is usually considered (especially by Freemasonry) as a symbol of imagination, sensibility, creativity and insanity, that is, of poets and artists. She represents the matriarchy that is supposed to have preceded patriarchy in human history. She also represents Dyonisiacs against Apollineans. Diana and her values were enslaved in our world along with women, and the sun gods' values were imposed, that of reason and absolute order. There's some wonderful ancient Greco-Roman depictions of Diana here, here, and here.

Dogs were also known to Greco-Roman Mythology outside of their direction connection as the Goddess Diana's hunting hounds. Dogs participated in a number of early Greek legends. The dog was identified with the Greco-Roman God of War, Ares (Mars). Xanthippus, the father of Pericles, was said to have owned a dog that swam by the side of his master's galley to the city of Salamis when the Athemians were forced to abandon their city. The dog was buried beside his master at a site known ever since as Cynossema, the dog's grave. Alexander the Great is said to have founded and named a city, Peritas, in memory of his dog. Homer's magnificent description of the sagacious and faithful hound Argus, recognizing Ulysses on his return, when no one else could, and his sensitive account of the dogs belonging to the swine herder Eumaeus, are both testimonials to the special relationship between dogs and humans.

Kennels of dogs were kept at the sanctuary of Asclepius at Epidaurus, and Asclepius (the great Greco-Roman God of Healing) was occasionally represented accompanied by a dog that could heal the sick by licking them. Unfortunately the dog's role in Greek religion was usually sacrificial. Dogs were sacrificed because they were plentiful, inexpensive, and easy to control. The early Romans also sacrificed dogs. For example, at the annual Roman festival of Robigalia, a dog was killed at the fifth milestone on the Via Claudia. Despite this, the Romans clearly view the dogs with great affection, and their folklore abounds with stories of dogs' courage and fidelity. An important communal Roman religious celebration was the Lupercalia, held annually on February 15.

The ceremony took place at the Lupercal, a small cave on the slopes of Rome's Palatine Hill (one of the seven hills upon which Rome was founded), where the Romans believed that Romulus and Remus had been suckled by the she-wolf. During the ceremony, two groups of young men sacrificed goats and a dog and then cut the goatskins into strips. Clothed only in these strips, the young men then ran a race along a specified course, tapping female bystanders with the strips of their goatskin garments as they passed. This rowdy festival was so popular that it was not abandoned until ad 494, well into the Christan era, when Pope Gelasius I replaced it with the Christian Feast of the Purification of the Virgin. Aptly, the dog was also used as an emblem to depict loyalty, or "faithful love". There are some nice classical images of the Goddess Diana here, here, here, and here

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One of the greatest civilizations of recorded history was the ancient Roman Empire. In exchange for a very modest amount of contemporary currency, you can possess a small part of that great civilization in the form of a 2,000 year old piece of jewelry. The Roman civilization, in relative terms the greatest military power in the history of the world, was founded in the 8th century (B.C.). In the 4th Century (B.C.) the Romans were the dominant power on the Italian Peninsula, having defeated the Etruscans and Celts. In the 3rd Century (B.C.) the Romans conquered Sicily, and in the following century defeated Carthage, and controlled the Greece. Throughout the remainder of the 2nd Century (B.C.) the Roman Empire continued its gradual conquest of the Hellenistic (Greek Colonial) World by conquering Syria and Macedonia; and finally came to control Egypt in the 1st Century (B.C.).

The pinnacle of Roman power was achieved in the 1st Century (A.D.) as Rome conquered much of Britain and Western Europe. For a brief time, the era of "Pax Romana", a time of peace and consolidation reigned. Civilian emperors were the rule, and the culture flourished with a great deal of liberty enjoyed by the average Roman Citizen. However within 200 years the Roman Empire was in a state of steady decay, attacked by Germans, Goths, and Persians. In the 4th Century (A.D.) the Roman Empire was split between East and West. The Great Emperor Constantine temporarily arrested the decay of the Empire, but within a hundred years after his death the Persians captured Mesopotamia, Vandals infiltrated Gaul and Spain, and the Goths even sacked Rome itself. Most historians date the end of the Western Roman Empire to 476 (A.D.) when Emperor Romulus Augustus was deposed. However the Eastern Roman Empire (The Byzantine Empire) survived until the fall of Constantinople in 1453 A.D.

At its peak, the Roman Empire stretched from Britain in the West, throughout most of Western, Central, and Eastern Europe, and into Asia Minor. Valuables such as coins and jewelry were commonly buried for safekeeping, and inevitably these ancient citizens would succumb to one of the many perils of the ancient world. Oftentimes the survivors of these individuals did not know where the valuables had been buried, and today, two thousands years later caches of coins and rings are still commonly uncovered throughout Europe and Asia Minor. Roman Soldiers oftentimes came to possess large quantities of "booty" from their plunderous conquests, and routinely buried their treasure for safekeeping before they went into battle. If they met their end in battle, most often the whereabouts of their treasure was likewise, unknown. Throughout history these treasures have been inadvertently discovered by farmers in their fields, uncovered by erosion, and the target of unsystematic searches by treasure seekers. With the introduction of metal detectors and other modern technologies to Eastern Europe in the past three or four decades, an amazing number of new finds are seeing the light of day 2,000 years or more after they were originally hidden by their past owners. And with the liberalization of post-Soviet Eastern Europe, new markets have opened eager to share in these treasures of the Roman Empire.

SHIPPING: These antiquities come from a number of collections which by and large originated here in Eastern Europe. As well, additional specimens are occasionally acquired from other institutions and dealers, principally in Eastern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean. All of these artifacts are now in the United States and are available for immediate delivery via U.S. Mail. All purchases are backed by an unlimited guarantee of satisfaction and authenticity. If for any reason you are not entirely satisfied with your purchase, you may return it for a complete and immediate refund of your entire purchase price. A certificate of authenticity (COA) is available upon request.

Our order fulfillment center near Seattle, Washington will ship your purchase within one business day of receipt of your personal check or money order. If you wish to pay electronically, we accept both PayPal and BidPay. However we ask that you PLEASE WAIT before remitting until we have mutually agreed upon method of shipment and shipping charges and you understand our PayPal limitations and policies (stated here). We will ship within one business day of our receipt of your electronic remittance.

A certificate of authenticity (COA) is available upon request. We prefer your personal check or money order over any other form of payment - and we will ship immediately upon receipt of your check (no "holds"). Please see our "ADDITIONAL TERMS OF SALE."