Orgy of interest for the £500,000 ‘Caligula ring’
a SolId sapphire ring once thought to have belonged to the notorious Roman emperor caligula has gone on sale.
It bears the image of his fourth wife caesonia – played in the controversial 1979 erotic movie caligula by dame Helen Mirren.
Expected to fetch close to £500,000, it has attracted worldwide interest, with one asian collector said to have hired a team to queue outside Wartski, the royal jewellers in london where it is being sold, to ensure he is the first through the doors when they open today.
caesonia was said to be so beautiful that caligula paraded her naked in front of his troops. the couple were assassinated in 41ad. the ‘caligula ring’ is a rare sky blue hololith – meaning it is made from a single piece of stone. Experts now believe it is an Italian reproduction carved during the Renaissance.
It was owned by the Earl of arundel from 1637 to 1762, when it became one of the famous Marlborough Gems, a collection of 800 engraved jewels amassed by the 4th duke of Marlborough.
latterly it was in a French collection before being acquired by Wartski. director Kieran Mccarthy said: ‘Very few hololiths exist and I would argue this is the best example you can find.’