Quintus Signet Ring
Our Quintus is perhaps the most iconic Roman signet ring of all, featuring a long, framed rectangular plate that surrounds a raised message (usually a name) or design on the interior. It is based on several examples found in situ in the houses of the ancient city of Pompeii and dating before AD 79.
The front of our ring will easily accommodate a raised design or set of letters up to two short words, in Roman font type. We are happy to customize your ring for you! Design ideas include the word "REX" (or "king"), for example, or simply a proper name. Please note that all letters will appear in mirror image, as this type of ring was supposed to be pressed into wax, to leave a readable impression of the seal.
The Romans, like other ancient cultures, used rings with special and personalized designs on them, "signet" rings, as a form of self-identification. Often incised into (or raised in relief out of) the stone or metal, the designs on the front of the rings were often letters that spelled out a name or an idea, or symbols such as images of gods or personifications that meant something to the individual - or that recalled the person's own name in a clever way. As these designs (and therefore the rings) were personalized, they became a type of signature or an official mark of the individual, when pressed into hot wax on a document.
"Quintus" was a common Roman praenomen, or first name, that derives from the Latin word for "fifth." One famous Roman Quintus in the period of the Republic was the Roman dictator Quintus Hortensius (c. 300 - 251 BC), who, with his Lex Hortensia ended two centuries of struggle between the orders, and aided the plebeians’ fight to gain political equality with patricians.
