Roman Silver Seal Ring | Bearded Serapis Modius, Red Jasper

Roman, Imperial period. A finger ring of high-purity silver, tested at 98 percent, set with an oval red jasper intaglio of the bearded head of Serapis. The god faces right, with a full beard and thick curls, and wears the kalathos or modius, the grain measure that marks him as a giver of abundance and lord of the underworld. The hoop widens at the shoulders into a heavy, rounded bezel, with the stone set flush, as is typical of Roman signet rings. Red jasper was favored by Roman gem cutters because it takes a crisp cut, making it well suited to seals pressed into wax or clay. The ring likely served both as a personal seal and as a sign of devotion to one of the most widely worshipped gods of the Imperial world. Serapis was a deity built on purpose. His cult was likely promoted under Ptolemy I Soter (r. 306 to 283/282 BCE) as a figure who could unite the Greek and Egyptian subjects of the new Ptolemaic kingdom. His name and nature came from Osiris-Apis, the deified Apis bull of Memphis. His appearance was entirely Hellenic, with the mature, bearded majesty of Zeus and the chthonic dignity of Hades. In time he also took on the healing powers of Asklepios and something of the fertility of Dionysos. His great sanctuary, the Serapeum at Alexandria, made him the patron god of the Ptolemaic capital. Under Roman rule his worship spread across the Mediterranean, often alongside that of Isis. By the 2nd and early 3rd centuries CE he had powerful supporters, Septimius Severus most notably. In those same centuries his bust became one of the most frequently cut subjects in Roman glyptic. The modius on his head was a reminder that the grain fleets of Egypt fed Rome, and it made the image a fitting emblem of prosperity for the person wearing it. Item # 205477

Utropspris:SEK 4,480.93

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