FORMS OF RINGS AND MATERIALS 69
of
a scarab-setting; another type has elliptical hoops, either plain or
ornamental, the scarab being in a filigree-decorated bezel; in still
another, the lower part of the hoop is twisted into a loop, so that the
ring can be worn suspended; there are also some plain, flat or rounded
hoops, sometimes with the ends overlapping.
The Greek and Hellenistic periods, from the sixth to the second century b.c., furnish
a large variety of forms, some copied or adapted from earlier ones and
then independently developed. A rounded hoop tapering upward, with
ornamental extremities, occasionally appears in fine examples, the ends
of the hoop representing the lions' masks ; the bezels are frequently
of oval shape, and the shoulders of the hoop are often nearly straight;
in another type while the outside of the hoop is rounded, the inside is
facetted; sometimes there is a high convex bezel, bevelled underneath.
There are still a few swivel rings with scaraboids. In the Hellenistic
period appear massive gold rings with square-cut shoulders and raised
oval settings, in which a convex stone is placed. Still another type is
an expanding hoop formed of two overlapping ribbons and with a convex
bezel.
Etruscan
rings assume various characteristic and peculiar forms, many of which
are found among the Roman rings of a later period, indicating the
derivation from the Etruscans of ring-wearing among the Romans. One of
these in the British Museum has a broad hoop ending in convex shields,
a scarab being pivoted in the terminals; in others, the hoop is hollow,
terminating in cylindrical ornaments, between these a scarab revolves
on a wire swivel. A peculiar example has a grooved hoop, the ends being
convex disks, in which is pivoted a scarab. One of these Etruscan rings
has a very large convex oval bezel, around the slope of which run a
series of embossed figures.
