Late 19th C - Early 20th C, Rare 14K Intaglio Ring, Jasper Gryllos, Ancient Gem?
When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Late 19th C - Early 20th C, Rare 14K Intaglio Ring, Jasper Gryllos, Ancient Gem?:
$200.00
Offered for sale is a small, solid 14K-15K gold, late 19th or early 20th century ring set with a hand engraved, brick colored, jasper gem stone intaglio. The intaglio set in this ring is a Grylli, Gryllos or Gryllus in its form. A Grylli intaglio is a composite of several faces, usually three, facing in different directions. The purpose of such an intaglio, at least to the Romans, was to divert the evil eye from the wearer or provide the wearer good fortune, a good luck intaglio so to speak. The three faces this Grylli intaglio has are a young man, probably meant as a Satyr, an old bearded man, probably a Silenus, springing from the young mans head, and the beaked head of an eagle, growing out of the young mans neck. Grylli intaglios are relatively rare.This intaglio may be a 19th century copy of an ancient Grylli intaglio or it may be ancient, since it was popular in the 19th century for ancient intaglios to be set in newly made rings. I leave it up to the viewer to decide if it is ancient or a 19th copy of an ancient intaglio. It is very difficult to separate ancient engraved gems from 18th,19th or 20th century copies unless one knows the provenance of the gem. The faces on this intaglio are easier to see when seen as an impression in wax. I have provided pictures of its impression.This ring is a size 8 and weighs 3.4 grams. This ring is not hallmarked but acid tests as 14-15K solid gold. The intaglio set in this ring measures approximately 10mm by 7mm and is hand engraved. This ring shows wear on one of its sides to the point of a good deal of loss to that sides chip engraved design. Also, after cleaning I noticed that there is a small bit of glue on one side on the back of the gemstone that appear to fill a small chip to the back of the stone and keep it strait in the setting. This chip is small and does not affect the rest of the stone or ring but any buyer should know it is there. This ring, though worn, is still wearable and this rare engraved gem set ring would be a welcome addition to any collection of antique jewelry, engraved gems or collection of cameos or intaglios. Cameo.
If you have questions I will attempt to answer them.
Please see pictures:
Late 19th C - Early 20th C, Rare 14K Intaglio Ring, Jasper Gryllos, Ancient Gem?:
$200.00