Antique Ancient Roman Emperor Lapis Lazuli and Gold Signet Ring

Antique Ancient Roman Emperor Lapis Lazuli and Gold Signet Ring

Antique Ancient Roman signet ring with carved lapis lazuli, depicting the iconic Hadrian Roman Emperor. Made in Second Century AD, Roman Empire.

The shank been added later and has tested positive for 18ct yellow gold.

Dimensions:
Ring Size: Length x Width x depth: 2.6 x 2 x 0.7 cm
Finger Size (UK) = Q (EU) = 57 1/2 (US) = 8 1/2
Weight : 15 grams

Condition: Pre-owned, minor signs of usage and age, otherwise great overall condition.

Hadrian ( 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born into a Roman Italo-Hispanic family, which settled in Spain from the Italian city of Atri in Picenum. His father was of senatorial rank and was a first cousin of Emperor Trajan. Hadrian married Trajan’s grand-niece Vibia Sabina early in his career, before Trajan became emperor and possibly at the behest of Trajan’s wife Pompeia Plotina. Plotina and Trajan’s close friend and adviser Lucius Licinius Sura were well disposed towards Hadrian. When Trajan died, his widow claimed that he had nominated Hadrian as emperor immediately before his death.

Rome’s military and Senate approved Hadrian’s succession, but four leading senators were unlawfully put to death soon after. They had opposed Hadrian or seemed to threaten his succession, and the Senate held him responsible for their deaths and never forgave him. He earned further disapproval among the elite by abandoning Trajan’s expansionist policies and territorial gains in Mesopotamia, Assyria, Armenia, and parts of Dacia. Hadrian preferred to invest in the development of stable, defensible borders and the unification of the empire’s disparate peoples. He is known for building Hadrian’s Wall, which marked the northern limit of Britannia.