This stunning, 2,000-year-old sapphire ring is hard not to adore. The third Roman emperor Caligula, who ruled from 37 to 41 AD, is thought to have formerly owned this antiquated Roman artifact.
The sky blue hololith, made from a single piece of sapphire, is believed to have owned by Caligula, who reigned from 37AD until his assassination four years later. © Wartski/BNPS
The Roman emperor known as "Caligula" (which translates to "little soldier's boot") was given the name Gaius Julius Caesar in honor of Julius Caesar.
Today, Caligula is remembered as an infamous emperor who was cunning and ruthless. He may or may not have been mad, but there is little doubt that he was one of the most brutal tyrants in all of ancient Rome. He engaged in incest with his sisters, had his contemporaries worship him as a god, and planned to name his horse consul. Torture and murder were frequent throughout his brief reign.
This exquisite ring is as lovely as Caligula was terrible, if accounts of his behavior in the past are to be believed. The expensive stone hololith in the color of the sky is said to represent Caesonia, Caligula's fourth and last wife. There were rumors that she was so beautiful that the Emperor occasionally ordered her to parade before his companions naked.
Because Suetonius, a Roman historian, called Caesonia "a woman of reckless extravagance and wantonness," she must have been outstanding.
The face engraved into the bezel is thought to be his fourth and last wife Caesonia. © Wartski/BNPS
Julia Drusilla was born as a result of Caligula and Caesonia's romance. Caesonia was the emperor's most trusted advisor and the one he was most in love with. The couple was surrounded by adversaries who wanted to depose Caligula, nevertheless.
A plot hatched by senators, courtiers, and Praetorian Guard members under the direction of Cassius Chaerea resulted in Caligula's murder. Also slain were Caesonia and her daughter. Various sources have varying accounts of the homicide. Some claim that Caligula had his chest slashed. Some claim that he was slashed between the neck and shoulder with a sword.
Seneca claims that Chaerea decapitated the emperor in a single blow, but a large group of conspirators still surrounded him and slashed at his corpse with swords.
Chaerea despatched a tribune named Lupus to kill Caesonia and Drusilla, the emperor's young daughter, just after the murder.
Apparently, the young girl was slammed into a wall while the empress bravely took the hit. Then, out of concern for what might happen next, Chaerea and Sabinus ran into the palace complex's interior before making their way into the city via a separate route.
Emperor Caligula’s ring leads stellar exhibition at Royal Jewellers Wartski. © Wartski/BNPS
From 1637 through 1762, the Earl of Arundel owned Caligula's lovely sapphire ring, which later became one of the renowned "Marlborough Gems."
Unsurprisingly, the ring created a stir when Royal jewelers Wartski offered it for sale in an auction.
This ring, which was formerly owned by the Earl of Arundel, is one of the famous "Marlborough Gems." It is totally made of sapphire. There are very few hololiths in existence, and this, in my opinion, is the best one. According to the engraving, which depicts the debauched Emperor Caligula's last wife Caesonia, we think it belonged to him, said Wartski director Kieran McCarthy. In 2019, Caligula's ring was eventually sold for about £500,000.
