Timo Sarpaneva

About the origin of the name "The ring of Trajan", written by Marjatta Sarpaneva:

In Ascona, on the shores of Lake Maggiore, stood Dr Rosenbaum's magnificent old patrician house. The multi-storey building was loaded from basement to attic with valuable antiques. "How nice to see you Dr. Sarpaneva," Dr. Rosenbaum greeted, "please come in. May I offer you a glass of sherry? I have just the thing for you, may I ask you to come into my study". We had visited Dr. Rosenbaum's "holy of holies" on several occasions and had become acquainted with the curiosities which our host expertly presented to us.
Dr. Rosenbaum bent over to the old antique cabinet and took out a small box, opened it and placed a startling object in the palm of Timo's hand: the seal ring of the Roman Emperor Trajan! Timo was enchanted. The ring cost a fortune, and the artist would never have the means to buy it. Timo went to Ascona almost every day to hold the ring in his hands, trying it on his finger and feverishly wondering how he could make it his own. Finally, with a poignant heart, he had to give up and the ring remained in Ascona.
But Timo never forgot the ring, he often talked about it. While creating the Claritas collection, he made his own 'Trajan's ring', a masterpiece whose creation perhaps eased a little the pain of giving up.