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Details

LOT 0090

Hellenistic Glass Gem with Goddess

3RD-2ND CENTURY B.C.

7/8 in. (2.52 grams, 22 mm).

Engraved with a goddess (Aphrodite?), facing right, peplos around her hips, her left elbow resting on a column and her left hand behind her body; the right hand outstretched and holding a sceptre; a snake(?) before.

Provenance

Acquired in the late 1980s-early 1990s.
Important North West London collection.

Literature

Cf. Amorai-Stark, S., ‘Roman Wheel-cut Engraving, Dyeing and Painting Microquartz Gemstones’ in Journal of Archaeological Science, 2003, 30, pp.227-238, pl.2, fig.1, for the type.

Footnotes

In the famous Greek myth of the Gorgon, Aphrodite, jealous of their beauty, placed a curse on Medusa and her sisters, transforming their hair into snakes and making their gaze turn anyone into stone.

CONDITION

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AUCTIONS:

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LOT 0090

Hellenistic Glass Gem with Goddess

Estimate £600 - 800€700 - 930 (for guidance only)$810 - 1,080 (for guidance only)

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