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LOT 0031
Engraved Bronze Seal of a Republican Period Male Portrait
2ND-1ST CENTURY B.C.
5/8 in. (3.11 grams, 17 mm).
Discoid in plan with a deeply engraved clean-shaven male bust; supplied with a museum-quality impression.
ProvenancePrivate English collection, formed between the late 1970s and early 1990s.
Private collection, London, UK.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0031
Engraved Bronze Seal of a Republican Period Male Portrait
Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,235
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Italic Banded Agate Scarab with Kneeling Warrior in Gold Mount
3rd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £11,700
Scarab bezel with carapace detailing and intaglio of a kneeling male nude wearing a helmet, holding a shield, sword and a spear; set into a later gold swivel ring; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 5.24 grams, 25 mm
English private collection. Acquired on the English art market. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13110-248399.
The intaglio can depict Capaneus, a legendary, strong, skilled, but arrogant warrior. He was one of the Seven Against Thebes, who boasted that not even Zeus could stop him from scaling the city walls. However, as he climbed them, Zeus struck him down with a bolt of lightning, illustrating divine punishment for his hubris. Evadne, his wife, then threw herself onto the funerary pyre in her grief. The story of strength but excessive pride was reflected in Dante's Inferno, where Capaneus is in the seventh circle as a condemned blasphemer. -
Greek Bronze Bird Figure
8th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £94
Amuletic pendant formed as a perching bird with long neck and stub legs, loop to the back. 21.9 grams, 42 mm
Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s. -
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Italic Carnelian Scarab with Satyr Mounted in a Gold Swivel Ring
4th-3rd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,404
Carved scarab with detailed carapace, legs and mouth; underside with intaglio standing figure holding an amphora; set into a later gold swivel ring. 5.30 grams, 23.85 mm overall, 14.56 x 17.70 mm internal diameter (approximate size British J 1/2, USA 5, Europe 9.32, Japan 9)
Private collection, Europe. Acquired on the English art market.
It is clear that the sculptor devoted more care and attention to carving the scarab itself rather than its intaglio.
