Roman, gold Finger Ring, 4th cent. AD, internal diam. 1.5cm, bezel width 1.1cm, 10.24g, solid cast band, broad angular hoop carved with openwork inverted volutes at the sides of the shoulders, recessed oval bezel set with a banded agate intaglio engraved with the legend evc/ebi (Eusebius) in two lines. Slight scuffing on the lower edge, otherwise in excellent condition £3,000-£3,600

Provenance: From a UK private collection.

The legend is recorded on a ring published in Antique Gems (London 1866, p.196), combined with eutuvi and which may have been a present to the chamberlain of Constantius, the persecutor of the Cæsar Julian in the 4th cent. AD. The name Eusebius may also refer to the founder of the church in Rome on the Esquiline Hill that bears his name