A beautiful tiny ancient Roman gold ring, circa 2nd to 3rd century AD.

Probably made for a small child, or worn on the middle section of the finger, this is the smallest ring we have ever handled! It is so small that it could even be used to as a pendant around a gold chain.

This beautiful ancient ring is crafted from high karat gold and features a raised circular bezel with an incised motif.

Similar examples can be found in the British Museum (Accession numbers: 1917,0501.976, 1917,0501.201, 1872,0604.89), the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna (object 71115) and the Alice and Louis Koch Collection (item 343).

The small ring takes the form of Guiraud’s type III classification of ancient Roman rings (a framework of identifying the age of Roman Gaul rings based on their shapes). This angular hexagonal shape with bevel edges dates these types of ring specifically to the 2nd - 5th century AD.

The ring tests as solid high karat gold (21K) and weighs a total of 1.69 grams. The raised circular bezel measures 2.5mm across.

UK size B 1/2, US size 1 (Internal diameter of 12mm x 15mm)

The ancient Romans considered jewellery to be an essential dressing accessory, for it provided a public display of their wealth. Roman jewellery first followed fashion set by the Etruscans, using gold and glass beads, but as the Roman empire spread and became more prosperous, so did its jewellery designs become more increasing elaborate.