CIRCA 11TH-12TH CENTURY A.D.

The stone is ovoid in form, concave on the reverse, sculpted in high relief with a half-length bust of the saint wearing a cloak fastened at the front by a circular brooch, and holding a spear. Inscribed on either side, ΑΓΙΟ ΠΡΟΚΟΠΙΟC (Saint Prokopios). The cameo is mounted as a ring in a 19th century gold setting.
Procopius was a famous ascetic, theologian and philosopher, born in Jerusalem but moved to Scythopolis. Of his martyrdom on 7 July 303 A.D. during the reign of Diocletian, the Church historian Eusebius informs that he was sent with his companions to Caesarea, where he was decapitated. His depiction on the Sangiorgi cameo conforms to standard representations of the Saint on icons. As Boardman and Wagner (op. cit.) inform, garnet is a rare material for cameos during the Byzantine period. For another example see the cameo in Baltimore depicting a full-length figure of Saint Irene, no. 466 in Garside, op. cit.