Marcus

A French Neo-Renaissance plaque, after a model from the School of Fontainebleau, this necklace gives form to one of the great exemplary narratives of ancient Rome: the sacrifice of Marcus Curtius.

According to legend, an oracle foretold that Rome would fall unless the city offered the gods its most precious possession. When a deep chasm suddenly opened in the Roman Forum, threatening to engulf even the city’s greatest monuments, its leaders were left without answer.

Marcus Curtius then stepped forward. To him, nothing in Rome was more precious than the valour of its warriors. With these words, he offered his courage by riding his horse into the abyss. The earth closed over the young horseman; the sacrifice took effect, and the Eternal City was saved.

From Antiquity onward, this episode of Marcus Curtius’s epic death became the symbol of absolute courage and of the spirit of sacrifice carried to its highest point.

Transformed into a necklace, this Neo-Renaissance plaque preserves the power of this story.
Marcus is a Protection Jewel.