FINGER RING

A orange coloured carnelian intaglio which is of Roman date. The intaglio is oval and is 14.1mm long, 10.8mm wide and 5.5mm thick. Both faces are convex but the front is flatter than the reverse. There is a chip missing from the top left and the centre of the back has a dull surface, where the rest is glossy. The front is decorated with a carving of a Indian ring-necked parakeet (or parrot) facing left (described from the intaglio) and holding a pair of cherries in its mouth. The intaglio looks as if it may have been set in a finger ring and could have been used as a seal matrix. A very similar intaglio but on red jasper and without the cherries was found at Castleford. Martin Henig writes: "Parrots are often shown on Roman gems, reflecting their popularity as pets and their association with the God Bacchus, who was believed to have come from India" (Henig, 1993 in "Roman Castleford, Volume I" edited by Cool and Philo, 1998). The Castleford intaglio dates from 43 - 150 AD. Professor Henig examined a photograph of the intaglio and suggested the following further parallels: M.Maaskant-Kleibrink, Catalogue of the Engraved Gems in the Royal Coin Cabinet,The Hague (The Hague 1978) p.229 no.565, plate 103 and a lost gold ring from London with an incised parrot with cherries in its beak (Wheeler, London in Roman Times (1930) 98 and fig.30 no.3 and listed (not illustrated) in the Corpus of Roman Engraved Gemstones from British Sites (Henig, new edn.2007) no.779. He adds: "Incidentally birds are shown with cherries in their beaks on stucco from Fishbourne Roman palace published in Barry Cunliffe's report." He dates the gem to round about the middle of the 2nd century.