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_900x900.jpg "Etruscan Agate Talismanic Scarab")
_200x200.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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Eastern Greek Variegated Agate Gemstone with Lion
6th-4th century B.C.Estimate: £400 - 600 (+bp*)
Bids: 2 | Current Bid: £15
Scaraboid type with incuse design to the underside of a lion advancing beneath a star inside a ropework border; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 2.53 grams, 15 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s. -
Greek Campanian Bowl
South Italian, circa 4th-3rd century B.C.Estimate: £40 - 60 (+bp*)
Bids: 1 | Current Bid: £5
Broad and squat with thick rim and carinated foot. 17.4 grams, 44 mm
From the collection of David Donlan (1947-2025), a dedicated and lifelong collector with a passion for the ancient world and the natural sciences, forming his collection from 1960s onwards, using many reputable dealers across the United Kingdom, including the well-regarded Coincraft and The Parthenon Gallery. -
Greek Bronze Hercules and Antaeus Statue Group
Hellenistic, 3rd-1st century B.C.Estimate: £10,000 - 14,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £4,900
Dynamic scene of two nude wrestlers, the giant Antaeus and Hercules, Hercules lifting Antaeus off the ground with his arms, while Antaeus is trying to pry his arms open to regain contact with Mother Earth, which would restore his strength; set on a custom-made display stand. 1.01 kg total, 20.3 cm high including stand
Mallams Oxford. From a UK private collection since the 1970s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13333-258242.
Here, the giant Antaeus is depicted with the more common dimensions of the hero, Hercules. Antaeus was a giant, the son of Neptune and Gaia. Antaeus would challenge all passers-by to wrestling matches and remained invincible as long as he remained in contact with his mother, the Earth. As in Greek wrestling, like its modern equivalent, he typically attempted to force opponents to the ground, and he always won, killing them. He built a temple to his father using the skulls of his defeated opponents. Antaeus fought Hercules as he was on his way to the Garden of Hesperides as his Eleventh Labour. Hercules realised that he could not beat Antaeus by throwing or pinning him. Instead, he held him aloft and then crushed him to death in a bear hug. The scene is famously depicted on a Greek krater dating to the sixth century BC and now in the Louvre, and was a popular subject for Renaissance artists. The episode in which Hercules defeats Antaeus is mentioned in Ovid's Metamorphoses.
