3rd-4th century AD. A silver ring of hexagonal shape, facetted on the outside; plaque with a bust of Zeus Serapis modelled in the round. See Marshall, F.H., Catalogue of the Finger Rings Greek, Etruscan & Roman in the Department of Antiquities British Museum, Oxford, 1968, similar specimens nn.1439-1440.18.90 grams, 32.05mm overall, 23.43mm internal diameter (approximate size British Z+1, USA 12 3/4, Europe 29.99, Japan 28) (1 1/4"). Property of an East Anglian collector; formerly acquired on the European art market in the 1990s. Serapis, an Egyptian-Greek syncretic god designed to appeal to the largest possible majority, was often represented as a symbol of religious unity of the official Graeco-Roman pantheon, and therefore as symbol of unity for the Empire. Serapis is a historically verified, deliberately planned religious synthesis, commissioned by Ptolemy I (323-283 BC), and was kept and spread by the Romans. Serapis worship remained popular until the advent of Christianity, with whom he competed during the age of the Illyrian emperors.