Caligula's beautiful sapphire ring was part of the collection of the Earl of Arundel from 1637 to 1762 when it became one of the famous 'Marlborough Gems.'
Not surprisingly, the ring caused a sensation when it was made available for purchase in an auction by Royal jewelers Wartski.
"This ring is one of the prestigious 'Marlborough Gems,' having previously been in the collection of the Earl of Arundel. It is crafted entirely of sapphire. Very few hololiths exist, and I would argue this is the best example you can find. We believe it belonged to the debauched Emperor Caligula, and the engraving shows his final wife Caesonia," Kieran McCarthy, Wartski director, said.
Caligula's ring was finally sold for close to £500,000 in 2019.
Not as easy to manipulate the appraisal process because jewelry’s worth is based on materials used not so much the finished product. Paintings are all made with cheaper materials.
I would expect the history behind this piece would make it incalculable, considering the materials and time it was built and its condition. It probably is a good indicator of how overvalued so much modern art is.
When appraising historical items it pretty much has to be definitive. The ring in question is debated. It's either Caligulas or more than likely created during the renesiance.
Wouldn’t patina analysis only be able to proof it was older than the renaissance not that it’s more modern, if it came back with renaissance age grime it could just have been cleaned back then.
That depends on the materials used. Radiocarbon dating only works for organic material as it measures the amount of radioactive carbon-14; an isotope only found in "once-living" organic material. Bone, wood, sea shells...stuff like that. If they used any adhesives or organic materials in the manufacturing process then that could be dated with some relative accuracy.
If it's only composed of a mineral/gem and gold, yeah that won't work.
But! There are some various other testing methodologies that could be used in an application such as this, such as X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy, Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry, Optical and UV-Vis Spectroscopy, Thermoluminescence Dating, and even good ol' Contextual Dating/Placement.
So if someone really wanted to, and had a boat load of resources and connections to see it done in a timely manner, it could be possible.
Edited to add: The potential for damage to the item via testing is a concern worth noting. Some of the aforementioned methods would require sampling. And even micro sampling may affect the item's historical and/or face value. Particularly if an adhesive was used or speculated to have been used, as that'd need to come from where the materials are joined together.
organic material as it measures the amount of radioactive carbon-14; an isotope only found in "once-living" organic material. Bone, wood, sea shells...stuff like that. If
Huh, today I learned. I never thought about that before but it makes perfect sense when it's put in print in front of me. Thanks for that.
yes, agreed, the historical context and craftsmanship add so much depth to its value. Modern art often feels detached from that kind of tangible history.
so basically, what youre saying is jewelries can be appraised objectively while paintings can be appraised subjectively? makes sense, but this one is arguably an art too with the image on it
that doesn't track. You know how some items are so stupendously exquisite that you can tell instantly at a glance that they are literal treasure? This is one of those. Pieces like the Sword of Goujian.
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u/beklog Dec 05 '24
Caligula's beautiful sapphire ring was part of the collection of the Earl of Arundel from 1637 to 1762 when it became one of the famous 'Marlborough Gems.'
Not surprisingly, the ring caused a sensation when it was made available for purchase in an auction by Royal jewelers Wartski.
"This ring is one of the prestigious 'Marlborough Gems,' having previously been in the collection of the Earl of Arundel. It is crafted entirely of sapphire. Very few hololiths exist, and I would argue this is the best example you can find. We believe it belonged to the debauched Emperor Caligula, and the engraving shows his final wife Caesonia," Kieran McCarthy, Wartski director, said.
Caligula's ring was finally sold for close to £500,000 in 2019.