Ancient Roman Bronze Ring with an Engraved Bezel of a Bird

In Ancient Roman society, jewellery was an essential accessory, providing the wearer with a public display of their wealth, social status, and identity. Roman jewellery at first followed the trends set by the Etruscans, employing the use of gold and glass beads. As the power and spread of the Roman Empire increased, jewellery designs became increasingly elaborate, utilising the many different materials, techniques, and styles found across the expanding empire, particularly from Greece, Egypt, North Africa, and the Orient. Rings were widely worn by men, women, and children, across the empire, with some rings having a practical use, such as signets, whilst others purely for decoration. Animals were a favoured decorative motif across Roman art, either in association with specific deities or myths, or as popular domestic animals. In Roman religion, where the Greeks had oracles, birds could reveal the will of the gods, and their flight, number, and behaviours were observed by augeres as omens, called auspicia. Decorative motifs featuring birds became extremely popular on artefacts, ceremonial or used on a day to day basis, and on jewellery.