Os Praetoriani

“Os Praetoriani”, a Praetorian mask in 925 silver Inside the ring, in what I like to call its “Dark Side”, are the god Mitra and the eagle. The cult of Mitra was widespread in the ranks of the Roman army.

The symbolism of this work embodies strength of spirit, courage, and the recovery of identity and dignity after a devastating defeat. “From the ruins of an empire and the discovery of a cavalry helmet mask, a jewel is reborn. A ring capturing the essence of the Praetorian and his concealed image, a work of art inspired by history. An elite unit symbolising strength and power, with a fundamental and controversial role in ancient Rome.” This is the story of a brave Roman special unit on a mission in Germanic lands, to reclaim its honour and recover the three lost Eagles, where the shadow of defeat still lingered… The original idea was to create a ring centred on the Kalkriese Mask, named after the site where it was found: a hill in Lower Saxony, Germany, within the Teutoburg Forest. This artefact is the front of a special Roman cavalry helmet, generally regarded as a ceremonial object. Yet its discovery on the site of a fierce battle presents a contradiction in itself. Such helmets were also extremely expensive, affordable only to certain elite units, such as the Praetorians. This premise inspired my fictional interpretation, without claiming precise historical accuracy: I gave the Praetorian Guard a decisive role, imagining a group of courageous soldiers on a special mission sent directly from Rome by the emperor to recover the three eagles lost in the battle preceding this story, in which the Ninth Legion of the Roman army suffered a disastrous defeat in Germanic territory.

The ring takes approximately 30 working days to create.