Roman Bronze Finger Ring | Profile Head on Oval Bezel, Emperor / Patron Bust

Roman, Imperial period. A small cast finger ring of leaded bronze, the hoop swelling from a narrow band into thickened shoulders that rise to a flattened oval bezel. The bezel carries a male bust in low relief, in profile facing left, with a suggestion of drapery at the shoulder. The surface has a green and earthen patina from burial. The portrait may represent an emperor, a patron or the owner. Without an inscription, it can’t be identified. The small hoop suggests the ring was worn by a woman or a youth. Roman law and custom made the signet ring an instrument of legal identity. Under the Republic the gold ring was restricted to senators and equestrians, but by the Imperial centuries seal rings in copper alloys circulated broadly among freedmen, soldiers, merchants, and household administrators, who needed a device to close a document or stamp a shipment. Pliny the Elder complained in his Natural History that the ring had become the mark of a man's credit rather than his birth. The alloy here is a leaded bronze, a mixture the Roman workshops favored for cast ornament: the added lead lowers the melting point and thickens the flow of the molten metal, letting it fill fine intaglio and relief detail in a small mold before it chills. The trade-off is a softer, more brittle finished object, which is why such rings were cast rather than forged and why bezel relief on them often survives worn. Please note that this ring contains up to 22.2% lead and is not recommended for wear. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids. Item # 204639

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