A fine ancient Roman gold ring featuring a D-shaped hoop and a round bezel. The ring band is formed from intertwined pair of conjoined gold wires. The bezel is enriched with a banded chalcedony, possibly sardonyx, flat-topped cabochon, nicely engraved with an image of a winged figure, possibly a siren, standing and playing an aulos (the double flute). A delicate gold filigree decorates the border of the bezel. The term intaglio refers to a small image that has been engraved into a gemstone and usually set in a piece of jewellery, most commonly a ring. Such artistic form has its origin in Sumer in the 4th millennium BC, with the appearance of cylinder and stamp seals, whereby decorations and patterns were engraved into soft stones. During the Hellenistic period and the early Roman Empire, the art of intaglio reached its apogee, with there being a steady decline in craftsmanship in the late Imperial Rome, until a revival of interest with the Byzantine and during the Renaissance. Measurements: H 2.2cm x W 2.6cm Internal diameter: circa 1.9cm; closest UK ring size: S Weight: 6.11g Provenance: From the late Alison Barker collection, a retired London barrister; from her collection formed early 1960s-1990s.