A Victorian Gold Signet Ring Set With An Agate Intaglio. Horse Promote With Attributes And Lett

Intaglio 12x13 mm
US size 6 - UK M - FR 52 ½
Total weight 4,41 gr
Circa 1830-40

Victorian gold ring, set with a cushion-shaped agate intaglio depicting a protome of a horse facing left, open-mouthed and bridled, surrounded by a series of attributes: a club, an ear of wheat, a palm (or feather) and a star. The composition is completed by the Latin letters I ★ AV L C set in the field.

The stone is set in a gold bezel, carried by neo-baroque-inspired scrolled shoulders, the ring body chased with a stylized acanthus leaf.

The iconography - equine protome associated with a set of symbolic attributes and a short, abbreviated inscription - belongs to a typology well attested in Roman glyptics of the imperial period, where the horse's head is associated with victory, military prestige and equestrian status, while the accompanying objects may refer to the seal owner's personal or professional identity.

The letters probably form the abbreviation of a name or motto (or fancy), in keeping with the intaglio's function as a seal.