A 2000 year-old sapphire ring, once belonged to the Roman Emperor Caligula (37-41 AD), has an incredibly detailed portrait of Caligula’s fourth and last wife, Caesonia, carved into it. It is a testament to the opulence of the time. [1080×780]

In 18th Century AD, George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough, amassed an incredible collection of carved gemstones and cameos. Marlborough Collection was considered one of the best private jewelry collections and many of the 800 pieces of jewelry date back to antiquity. The collection was broken up in 19th Century AD, to pay for repairs at Blenheim Palace and in 2019, an interesting gemstone from the collection came up for sale. The nearly 2000 year-old sapphire ring is a dazzling piece of jewelry aesthetically, but its history makes it all the more fascinating. It’s thought to have belonged to Caligula, the notoriously tyrannical ancient Roman emperor. Caligula ruled from 37 AD, but his reign was cut short after four years when he was assassinated by Praetorian Guards, security force that was meant to protect the emperor.

Today, Caligula is remembered as an infamous emperor who was smart but also cruel. Whether he was insane or not is still debated, but there is no doubt he was one of the most brutal emperors in ancient Rome. He forced his contemporaries to worship him as a god, committed incest with his sisters, and wanted to make his horse a consul. Torture and executions were a daily routine during his brief reign. Sapphires are exceptionally hard, ranking just below diamonds on the Mohs scale of hardness. It would have taken quite a bit of skill to not only cut and polish the sapphire but to carve the delicate portrait on the front of the ring. So who is this beautiful woman etched into stone? Appropriately, it appears to be a portrait of Caligula’s fourth and last wife, Caesonia. Roman historian Suetonius described her as “a woman of reckless extravagance and wantonness” and even claimed that she gave birth to their daughter on their wedding day. Caligula and Caesonia had a passionate affair and its said that he even occasionally showed her off, naked to friends. Caligula’s love story with Caesonia resulted in the birth of Julia Drusilla. Caligula was deeply in love with Caesonia, and she was the emperor’s most important confidant. However, the couple was surrounded by enemies who wished to remove Caligula from power.

With such a fiery relationship, it’s no wonder that the emperor would want her portrait on his ring. Alas, their love wouldn’t last, with Caesonia and her daughter—being murdered just hours after Caligula was killed. Though some art historians point out that the style of the ring may not fit with what was fashionable during the emperor’s time, it’s still fun to imagine that it was his. Aside from the incredible backstory, the sapphire ring caused a sensation when it came up for auction in 2019 due to its place in the Marlborough Collection. Once the gems were sold off in 1899 AD, many of them disappeared into private collections and even today experts only know the location of one-quarter of the jewels. This is not the only piece from the Marlborough Collection to pass through Wartski. Currently, they have two other Marlborough gems in their collection, including a 16th Century AD, Italian cameo and an ancient Roman golden sard carved with a portrait of Mark Antony. It’s a rare portrait of the general, who is famous for his love affair with Cleopatra.

*Caligula’s ring is a testament to the opulence of the time.*

I mean, emperors and kings always lived opulently, regardless of era. I bet the average Roman farmer or legionary had no such jewels.

Very cool ring, though. One of the best artifacts on this sub recently

If it was Caligula’s, you know it’s been up a few bums.

Absolutely incredible piece