Jewellery, Watches and Objects of Vertu

An antique gold erotic ring, the cast cut-out design depicting two bestiality scenes, the Pan-like figure in sexual congress with a deer, the broad ring edged with borders of repeating V-shaped motifs, diameter 20mm, height 18mm, ring size (leading edge) P. £1,000-£1,200

This ring was found at Chalgrove, Oxfordshire in 1990 by a detectorist and was recorded on the Portable Antiquities Database in 2014, Ref: BUC-F64034.

The ring has been examined at the British Museum and no specific dating given. X-ray fluorescence has determined the purity of the gold as 22.5 carat; hence it cannot be Roman or Medieval in date. It possibly dates from 17th-18th century, perhaps from the Grand Tour.