A Roman Intaglio of an Equestrian Warrior, ca 1st century CE

This beautiful intaglio is carved in a piece of bright blue and green striped mosaic glass, formed by laminating individual pieces in separate colors under great heat which causes them to fuse together.  On its surface, a horse and mounted warrior have been carved in great detail; the bearded warrior is fully armed - wearing a large crested helmet, breast plate, a great shield on his back, he holds the reigns of his horse in his left hand.  This superb intaglio was set as a ring in 1989 and is itself a striking example of wearable art.    Cast in rich 22K gold, the oval bezel joins a seperately made hoop inlaid with braided wire filigree of platinum and gold, of a style typical of Roman rings during the late Byzantine period.  The interior of the shank is inscribed:  c1989 Ariadne 22KT, Tim Koheki 1-29. Mosaic glass objects were manufactured using a laborious and time-consuming technique. Multicolored canes of mosaic glass were created, then stretched to shrink the patterns and either