finger-ring
- Museum number
- 1917,0501.96
- Description
-
Gold engraved finger-ring.
This portrait in Egyptian style shows the profile of a woman with sharp, masculine features. The vulture headdress, which is held in place by a diadem, identifies the subject as either a queen or a goddess; the head, tail and legs of the vulture are clearly visible (cf. Walker & Higgs, cat. no. 67). The hair is arranged in corkscrew locks, possibly an Egyptian wig. On top of the head is the base of a crown, composed of a circlet-of-cobras supporting a sun disc and cows' horns, as worn by the goddess Isis. The woman wears the knotted garment found on statues of Ptolemaic queens (see Walker & Higgs, cat. no. 56).
- Production date
- 150BC-100BC
- Dimensions
-
Diameter: 1.70 millimetres (inner)
-
Diameter: 1.90 centimetres
-
Length: 1.20 centimetres (bezel)
-
Weight: 6.60 grammes
- Curator's comments
- Walker & Higgs 2001
The portrait features compare closely with the basalt head of a Ptolemaic queen (Walker & Higgs, cat. no. 26) here identified as Cleopatra III (reigned 142-101 BC). Because of the similarity between this portrait and those of Ptolemies IX and X, the sons of Cleopatra III, this ring is most likely to date from the period when she was ruling with them (116-101 BC).
- Location
- On display (G22/dc8)
- Exhibition history
-
Exhibited: Cleopatra: The Magic of Egypt at Chiostro del Bramante, Rome from 12 October 2013 to 2 February 2014
- Acquisition date
- 1897
- Department
- Greek and Roman
- Registration number
- 1917,0501.96
