Beautiful, crisply engraved Neoclassical carnelian intaglio, the oval carnelian measuring 15.5 x 12.3 mm, the seal engraved with the profile of Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), and signed with the initials of gemstone carver Alessandro Merli (active 1808-26) set in an 14kt yellow gold with tapering gold shoulders. Image 4 shows impression of seal.

Circa 1810, Italy, probably Rome

Ring size 9 1/4

Gross weight 7.2 grams

Dante was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His Divine Comedy is widely considered one of the most important poems of the Middle Ages and the greatest literary work in the Italian language.

This Neoclassical carnelian ring was carved in the early 1800s, when following the discoveries of Herculaneum and Pompeii in the mid 18th century, Italian cameos and intaglios took Europe by storm and the quality of carved gems from Rome were considered on par with the gems of the renaissance.

Literature: Argentinieri Gemmari e Orafi d’Italia by Bulgari, Constantino G. and Anna Bulgari Calissoni, Rome, 1977, page 141 for information on Alessandro Merli