A fine Ancient Roman carnelian cabochon intaglio featuring a scorpion. The intaglio is oval in shape with a domed profile and a flat reverse. The obverse has been carved with image of a scorpion, with its eight legs, pincers, and long segmented tail, extending out from its rounded body, still clearly visible. The reverse is smooth and unadorned. Signs of wear as consistent with age such as minor scratches and pitting to the obverse. Please note, this is a small intaglio. Please check dimensions provided. 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: (circa) L 0.9cm x W 0.7cm Provenance: From the collection of a Swiss gentleman formed in Europe from 1970-1980s; thence by descent from the family in London.