ring

This ring depicts an allegory of true love. Cupid, the son of Venus, is tending the fire of love, while a butterfly flutters in front of him. The butterfly represents Psyche (the Greek name can be translated as "life," "spirit," and "soul," as well as "butterfly" or "moth"), a girl who was loved by Cupid and so beautiful that Venus became jealous of her. This scene is a micromosaic, a glass picture made from tiny sections of colored glass rods. As many as 1,400 such sections are found in a single square inch, which is slightly more than the diameter of the ring. Together, they have the look of a painting. In Rome, mosaicists copied paintings and prints, and they also created new designs ranging from jewelry to large furniture inlays (see 97.3.10).