Roman Copper Key Ring & Leaded Bronze Ring

Roman, Imperial period. A pair of ancient Roman finger rings preserving contrasting patinas, one deep green and earthen, the other a smooth gray-brown. The more petite example, cast in copper alloy, carries a rectangular bezel worked with a row of raised vertical ribs projecting from the shoulder: the ward of a key, made to be worn on the hand so that lift-lock or tumbler could never be parted from its owner. Such rings opened strongboxes, cupboards, and jewel caskets, and doubled as a public sign that the wearer had property worth locking. Its companion is the larger of the two, a leaded bronze hoop of even section and unadorned surface, the plainest and most enduring form of Roman personal ornament. Together they set utility and adornment side by side in the everyday register of Imperial metalwork. Roman key rings (anuli clavicularii) appear across the Empire from the 1st century CE onward, a direct consequence of a household economy in which valuables lived behind lift-locks and tumbler locks rather than in banks. Ancient authors treat the ring-key as shorthand for the householder's authority: the master of the house carried the means of access on his hand, and the freedman or steward entrusted with one wore a visible promotion. Most surviving examples are copper alloy rather than iron, which corrodes badly, so the copper-alloy survivors are disproportionately represented in collections today. Please note that the larger ring contains up to 11% lead and is not recommended for wear. Item # 204613

Stima:€312.46

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