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_900x900.jpg "Renaissance Carnelian 'Michelangelo's Seal' Gemstone")
_200x200.jpg "Renaissance Carnelian 'Michelangelo's Seal' Gemstone")
.jpg "Renaissance Carnelian 'Michelangelo's Seal' Gemstone")
LOT 0377
Renaissance Carnelian 'Michelangelo's Seal' Gemstone
18TH CENTURY A.D.
7/8 in. (1.21 grams, 21 mm).
Vibrant orange carnelian intaglio depicting a lively Bacchic scene with satyrs, wine-bearers and other participants beneath a canopy supported by two flying Cupids; below in the exergue, a small figure of a fisherman, fishing with a hook on the sea shore; supplied with a museum-quality impression.
ProvenanceAcquired on the European art market.
LiteratureCf. The British Museum, London, museum no.1978,1002.1205, for a brooch with a similar resin cameo; see also Brose, K.M., Applied Arts or Ancient Sculpture? A Renaissance Gem in the Census Database, online article, retrieved July 22 2026.
FootnotesThe original 'Seal of Michelangelo' is a famous engraved carnelian gem, acquired by King Louis XIV in 1670. It is now housed in the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Long thought to be an ancient Greek masterpiece, and a subject of debate and controversy, it was subsequently identified by scholars as a Renaissance work by Pier Maria Serbaldi da Pescia.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0377
Renaissance Carnelian 'Michelangelo's Seal' Gemstone
Estimate £600 - 800€700 - 930 (for guidance only)$810 - 1,080 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£300 (EUR 348; USD 405) +BP*
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Stuart Period Clasped Hands Ring
Circa 17th century A.D.Estimate: £40 - 60 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Comprising a rectangular-section hoop and the bezel formed as clasped hands with ribbed cuffs. 3.37 grams, 22.97 mm overall, 18.85 x 19.07 mm internal diameter (approximate size British R, USA 8 1/2, Europe 18 3/4, Japan 18)
Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman. -
Post Medieval Agate Cameo of a Lady in Gold Pendant
19th century A.D.Estimate: £800 - 1,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £400
Carved in low-relief, a female profile bust wearing a straw hat and mantle. 6.40 grams, 36 mm
Private collection, Europe. Acquired on the English art market. -
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Renaissance Agate Gemstone with Eros Riding a Hippocampus in Gold Ring
16th-17th century A.D.Estimate: £2,000 - 3,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,000
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. 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)
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.
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.
