Sale: CNG 69, Lot: 2243. Estimate $500.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 8 June 2005.  Sold For $950. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

[Antiquities] ROMAN. Silver finger ring. Circa 2nd-3rd century AD. Inner diameter 22mm. Heavy silver band with octagonal cut gemstone in nicolo (banded black and white onyx). Raised face of gemstone with intaglio engraving of a bucolic scene, a goatherd milking a nanny goat beneath a tree. Side of ring with engraved volutes. Good quality engraving, charming countryside vignette. Silver in good condition, boldly engraved stone. An attractive piece of ancient jewelry. ($500)

Such scenes of simple country life resonated with the upper classes of Roman society who, regardless of their increasing wealth and sophistication, still maintained a fond link with their agrarian roots. They read their Virgil and painted pastoral scenes on the walls of their banquet halls, even if their direct connection with the land consisted solely of the long-distance management of huge latifundia.