Ca. 100-300 AD.An oval-shaped stone intaglio engraved with a scene of the first of twelve labors of Hercules - killing the Nemean Lion, set in a possibly later gold ring of a round hoop and wide shoulders. The twelve works of Hercules were a punishment imposed by the Delphic oracle on the hero Heracles for murdering his own family. These tasks were very difficult to accomplish even for a hero. The Nemean lion was a vicious monster, which could not be killed with mortals' weapons because its golden fur was impervious to attack. However, Hercules strangled him to death with his immense strength. For a similar see The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Accession number: 90.24.403.Size: D: 19.1mm / US: 9 1/8 / UK: S; 16.05gProvenance: Property of a London doctor; Previously in a private Swiss family collection since the 1980s.