Ring, Infant Jupiter Riding Goat Amalthea

[Mayadigger]

Ave!

Copper alloy; 4.7gm, Ring size 10 1/4

In the photos, the engraved image of the infant Jupiter, on a raised three-tiered bezel, can be clearly seen in the photo. Whether is was a personal signet used to seal letters and documents is moot.

Just in case your not familiar with Greek/Roman mythology, Amalthea was the she-goat nurse of the god Zeus (Roman Jupiter) who nourished him with milk in a cave on Mount Dikte (Dicte) in Krete (Crete). When the god reached maturity he created his thunder-shield (the aigis) from her hide and the horn of plenty (cornucopia or keras amaltheias) from her crown. According to some Amaltheia was a nymph rather than a goat. Amaltheia was placed amongst the stars as the constellation Capra--the stellar group surrounding Capella on the arm (ôlenê) of the Auriga the Charioteer. The "goat on the arm" no doubt represented the stormy aigis-shield of Zeus which in classical art was sometimes depicted as a tasselled hide slung across his arm. The rising of Capella marked the onset of stormy weather for the Greeks. The word aigis means both "stormy weather" and "goat-skin" in ancient Greek which explains the close connection between the two in myth.

We've seen the same image on Greek/Roman coins but never on a ring. Extremely rare? You tell me, please.

Also seen below are photos of Jupiter riding Amalthea stuck on Roman coins.

Best regards,

Kevin

[Mayadigger]

Ave!

No comments?

[SC]

Nice piece. Never seen one but I am no real ring expert so don't know how rare the design is.

Very neat ring design too.

SC

[Gert]

I am not convinced you can identify the ring design this precise. It seems much too crudely engraved to make any positive id. If I would have to make a guess, I'd say it is Eros riding a mount, which was a popular design for seal stones. What kind of animal the mount is - a lion, a goat (like the denarius you showed), we can't say. I can't see any hind legs, so creatures like a capricorn would also be possible.
Regards
Gert

[Mayadigger]

Ave Gert, Shawn et al.

I am not convinced you can identify the ring design this precise. It seems much too crudely engraved to make any positive id. If I would have to make a guess, I'd say it is Eros riding a mount, which was a popular design for seal stones. What kind of animal the mount is - a lion, a goat (like the denarius you showed), we can't say. I can't see any hind legs, so creatures like a Capricorn would also be possible.
Regards
Gert

Gert, the real problem here is that I'm using Silly Putty for the ring's imprint and it's not so precise as if I used sealing wax. Actually, the engraving quite sharp. Seen below is a closer photo.

As seen and noted in the photo, we can see the goats two horns, both fore legs and back legs prancing right. The blunted goat's tail is obvious and is certainly not the fishtail of Capricorn.

I hope this helps and please let me know your further opinion.

Very best regards,

Kevin