Seal matrix containing a Roman Jasper Intaglio

The intaglio is a fine piece of early Roman art which has been reinterpreted in the middle Ages and incorporated into a seal matrix. A high quality intaglio has never been found previously on the Isle of Wight. The gem is cut in the precise classicising style of the 1st century with a depiction of the eternity of the Imperial Victory. A well educated man in the middle Ages would have been aware of the Classical Victory; however he may have interpreted the figure as an angel and the stars as the Heavens glorifying in the birth of the Saviour, Christ.