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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)
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Eastern Greek Scaraboid Gemstone with Gryphon
4th-2nd century B.C. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £650
Scaraboid type with incuse design to the underside of a winged gryphon with one foreleg raised; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 1.24 grams, 13 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s. -
Greek Terracotta Rhyton of a Goddess
3rd-2nd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £5,720
With flanged and stepped rim, tapering curved body, figural finial of the goddess with diadem; bands of red and cream geometric detail to the rim and upper body, red wave patterns to the inner face; the goddess modelled with carefully dressed hair and floral diadem, ringlets cascading to her collar bone, alert facial expression with almond-shaped eyes and prominent nose, with C-shaped billetted collar and chiton, cupping her left breast in her right hand; mounted on a custom-made stand. 1.25 kg, 24 cm
Private collection, London, UK; formed 1970s-1980s. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13312-258233.
It is challenging to identify the divinity represented on our vessel: it can be associated with Ariadne, wife of the god Dionysus, but also with a Parthian goddess such as Anahita. She was a Zoroastrian goddess associated with water, fertility, and wisdom, widely venerated across the Parthian Empire and often invoked alongside Ahura Mazda in royal and religious inscriptions. Rhyta in her likeness, typically terminating in a zoomorphic or divine protome, were used as ceremonial drinking vessels, reflecting Anahita's close association with libation and purification rites. -
Greek Terracotta Citharode
6th-4th century B.C.Estimate: £1,200 - 1,700 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £600
D-shaped in section with close-cut hairstyle, standing, holding a cithara supported on the left arm, strumming with the right hand. 62 grams, 86 mm
Ex Shlomo Moussaieff (1925-2015), Israel. European private collection. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13107-246791.
The cithara was the instrument of the ‘virtuosi’, the principal concert instrument of the ancient Greeks. Its sound box was made of wood and was much bigger than that of the lyra. Strips of copper or horn were commonly incorporated into it, which resonated in sympathy with the strings, giving a great breath of sound.
