An Ancient Roman Intaglio

I don’t often make things for myself. This intaglio ring, however, sits on my right hand just about daily.

I was given the central part of the ring by my last boss, as a gift, while working on a collection of intaglio-based jewelry for their shop. This meant I should make something just for myself, which felt special.

Intaglio (inˈtalyō) is a design engraved into a material, in this case, a carnelian. This particular intaglio is of the ancient Roman era and harkens back to the 1st - 2nd century ACE. Carnelians are brownish-red, soft semi-precious stones, and were especially popular in Greco-Roman antiquity. Carnelians only a 7 on the Mohs hardness scale, so are soft enough to carve into, even without the use of many tools. These carved carnelians- alongside hematite, jasper, agates, and a few others - often served as collector items and could be used as an individual’s signature wax seal.

This intaglio portrays the Roman goddess Minerva (Athena, to the Greeks); the goddess of wisdom, medicine, commerce, handicrafts, poetry, the arts, and war. We know this to be a carving of Minerva upon looking at the helmet the figure is wearing, a circular mark representing a shield guarding her torso, and the lines of her dress showing her hips, representing a feminine figure.

Of course, this carving needed to have a home. So, I chose to bezel set her in 14k yellow gold, with a handmade, half-round band. I wanted the stone to be the star of the show, but I also wanted to reference back to the rings the Romans used to wear with their intaglios, so I chose to add two pieces of granulation, at the north and south points of the ring.

Wearing this intaglio of Minerva reminds me to be strong, brave, and that artwork is an incredible thing that should be celebrated.