circa 4th – 3rd centuries BC
This finely modeled and heavy gold (approximately 23.4 Kt) ring is a masterpiece of ancient Greek jewelry.
The ring is superbly carved with a powerful image of a bearded head of Herakles wearing the skin of the Nemean lion as a helmet.
The exceptional quality of the carving indicates that it is a work of a master who, without doubt, was engraver of dies for cointage at that time. Ancient Greek die cutters were capable of producing elaborate and exquisitely detailed images on coins smaller than a fingernail.
The image of Herakles wearing lion’s skin was extensively used on coins starting from the late 5th century. This subject was particularly popular during the reign of Alexander the Great and the following rulers of Hellenistic dynasties. On great majority of coins, Herakles appears beardless.
There were several smaller local issues of that period where Herakles appears with a beard virtually identical to the image on this ring. Here are some of those issues: coins from the Islands off Caria (Kos) c. 355-335 BC, Sicily late 400s, Bruttium in Italy c. 216-214 BC.
Width of the ring at the widest point is 11 mm.
Metal analysis: 97.5% gold, 1.71% copper, 0.79% silver.
Weight is 23.17 grams
Approximate ring size 8 (18 mm) resizable
