Renaissance Agate Gemstone with Eros Riding a Hippocampus in Gold Ring

16TH-17TH CENTURY A.D.

1 in. (4.57 grams, 25.29 mm overall, 17.36 mm internal diameter (approximate size British N 1/2, USA 6 3/4, Europe 14.35, Japan 13)).

Oval banded agate intaglio engraved with Eros riding a hippocampus through the waves and wielding a whip in his hand; set in a later gold ring with openwork shoulders.

Provenance

Acquired on the European art market.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13348-257957.

Literature

Cf. for a neo-classical image of a hippocampus set in a gold ring Jordan, S. (ed.), Gems & Jewellery, Summer 2019, volume26, no.2, London, 2019, p.42.

Footnotes

The term hippocampus originates in the Renaissance, from Julius Caesar Arantius. He originated the term from the Greek word for seahorse (hippos [‘horse’] and kampos [‘sea monster’]). Arantius published his description of the hippocampus in 1587, in the first chapter of his work titled De Humano Foetu Liber.

CONDITION

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LOT 0343