The oval agate plaque finely carved in relief to depict the bust in profile of Marcus Aurelius, the last of The Good Emperors, from 161-180 AD, of the Roman Empire, carved the first half of the 19th Century, signed AA possibly for Antonion Amastini. 2.9cm length 2.3cm width.

Note:
Not only a piliferous beauty but a rather likeable character responsible for many wise words, Marcus Aurelius espoused the ideals of equality, self discipline and logic proposed by the ancient philosophy of Stoicism. Marcus himself was commonly referred to as 'the philosopher' even during his lifetime. He ruled the Roman Empire with his adoptive brother Lucius Verus from 161 - 180 AD (Verus died in 169) and was the last of the Five Good Emperors, his death (or rather the dictatorial rule of Commodus in the wake of Marcus' death) also signalled the end of the (very) relative peace of the previous 207 years, during which the Roman Empire had grown to 70 million people (a third of the world population).