Roman Bronze Signet Ring depicting Ibex
Weight: 3.39 g
Length: 2.4 cm / .94 in
Ring Size: 7 (US) / O (UK)
Dated to the 1st century B.C.–1st century A.D., this Roman bronze signet ring features a D-section hoop with stepped shoulders that rise to an oval bezel. The bezel carries a low-relief depiction of a running ibex — the animal is depicted mid-stride. The motif remains clearly legible despite the deep, even patina the bronze has acquired over two millennia.
Animal imagery was among the most common decorative choices for Roman signet rings.. The ibex, associated with wild, mountainous terrain and the edges of the known world, carried connotations of speed, freedom and virility. On a signet ring, such imagery served both as personal emblem and aesthetic statement, pressed daily into wax to mark ownership, identity and authority.
A similar example is featured in item number 419 of the catalogue “Hephaestus legacy - A memorial to a private collection of ancient rings and glyptics”.