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_900x900.jpg "Etruscan Agate Talismanic Scarab")
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LOT 0079
Etruscan Agate Talismanic Scarab
LATE 4TH-EARLY 3RD CENTURY B.C.
3/4 in. (3.53 grams, 18 mm).
Carved from banded orange agate and formed as a flattened scarab with a striated carapace, pierced for suspension.
ProvenanceUK private collection, acquired on the English market in the 2000s.
LiteratureCf. similar Etrusco-Roman scarabs in Van den Bercken, B.J.L., Baan, V.C.P., Engraved Gems from Antiquity to Present, Leiden, 2017, pp.155-162, figs.1-11.
FootnotesThe shape of an Etruscan scarab includes: (1) the scarab gem, where the engraving of the curved back of the stone more or less faithfully imitates the anatomical parts of the scarab beetle; (2) the scaraboid, which retains the overall shape of the scarab gem but with little or no engraving on the curved backside; and (3) the pseudo-scarab, which has an image carved in relief on its curved backside instead of a beetle. All three types have a flat, oval underside which carries an engraved miniature image (device) within a decorated border which is usually hatched.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0079
Etruscan Agate Talismanic Scarab
Estimate £500 - 700€580 - 810 (for guidance only)$680 - 950 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£250 (EUR 290; USD 338) +BP*
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Greek Bronze Ring with Bird
3rd-2nd century B.C.Estimate: £50 - 70 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Comprising a slender hoop and an oval hoop with a large advancing bird. 1.71 grams, 21.43 mm overall, 19.29 mm internal diameter (approximate size British P 1/2, USA 7 3/4, Europe 16.86, Japan 16)
From a UK collection formed in the 1980s. Property of an Essex, UK, gentleman. -
Attic Black-Figure Lekythos with Horses and Fighting Warriors
Attic, 4th century B.C.Estimate: £1,200 - 1,700 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £600
Cylindrical with echinus mouth and stepped torus foot, on the body a dynamic scene consisting of four rearing horses, side-by-side and wearing harnesses, nestled between the horses a standing warrior wearing a crested helmet, behind the horses an advancing warrior wearing a plumed helmet, holding a long spear in his raised hand a round shield in the other; before the horses a fleeing opponent in a running pose, facing back and holding a spear in one hand while protecting himself with a shield held in the other; long tongue motifs on the shoulder; restored. 472 grams, 23.5 cm
Ex Bonhams, Knightsbridge, London, 1990s. Private collection, Suffolk.
The scene depicts a battle between hoplites, possibly an episode from the Iliad. Originally, one or two of the combatants were positioned on a chariot; four horses from it remain visible. The scene may represent the wounding of Ares, the god of war, as he is pursued by Diomedes and accompanied by the goddess Pallas, whose helmet is emerging from behind the horses. -
'The Metropolitan Museum of Art' Cypriot Limestone Votive Head of a Man
Circa 5th century B.C.Estimate: £700 - 900 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £350
Finely carved votive head with almond-shaped eyes and strong nose, lips set to a gentle smile, typical of the Greek kouroi of this period, wearing a conical headdress leaving the ears exposed; set on its original base from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York with item number '163' and three sale labels on the base. 367 grams total, 13.1 cm high including stand
Likely discovered by Luigi Palma di Cesnola in Cyprus, 1860s-70s. Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, likely acquired from the above in 1872. Collection of Ira Martin, New York, acquired from the above on 12 March 1926. with Christie’s, New York, Antiquities, 5 June 1998, no.133. Private collection, thence by descent.
