Brass Ring

Patinated brass finger ring, characterized by a raised bezel shaped like a small toothed key (clavis anularis).

The object belongs to the category of so-called ring keys, implements that combined an important practical function with a strong symbolic value of power and authority. In ancient Rome, in the absence of banking institutions, money and valuable goods were kept in sturdy domestic strongboxes. Access to these containers was ensured by complex locks that could be operated only with personal keys, sometimes forged in the form of rings to make them easier to carry and to prevent their loss. The owner wore the ring on the finger or entrusted it to a trusted slave charged with its safekeeping. In many cases, the key’s bezel bore incised or relief motifs that also served as a personal seal, used to impress a distinctive mark in hot wax in order to seal official documents or small chests containing sensitive materials.