A fine Ancient Roman intaglio carved from a deep-red carnelian and featuring an engraved figure. The intaglio is oval in shape, featuring a smooth, unadorned reverse. The obverse features an engraving of a figure, possibly the god Mars, depicted standing facing left, shouldering a staff on his right and holding a javelin or lance in his left hand. He wears a short tunic, with drapery over his arms. Some minor chips to the edges and scratches to the surface. The term intaglio refers to a small image that has been engraved into a gemstone and usually set in a piece of jewellery, most commonly a ring. Such artistic form has its origin in Sumer in the 4th millennium BC, with the appearance of cylinder and stamp seals, whereby decorations and patterns were engraved into soft stones. During the Hellenistic period and the early Roman Empire, the art of intaglio reached its apogee, with there being a steady decline in craftsmanship in the late Imperial Rome, until a revival of interest with the Byzantine and during the Renaissance. Measurements: L 1.6cm x W 1.0cm Provenance: From the collection of a Swiss gentleman formed in Europe from 1970-1980s; thence by descent from the family in London.