Details

LOT 0183

Roman Bloodstone Intaglio with Horus, Osiris and Ouroboros

2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.

5/8 in. (1.31 grams, 17 mm).

Egyptizing intaglio representing the myth of Osiris, with the mummy of the god resting above the snake Ouroboros and surmounted by his son, the falcon god Horus, a star above.

Provenance

Giorgio Sangiorgi (1886-1965), Rome, acquired and brought to Switzerland, late 1930s; thence by continuous descent to the current owner.
with Christie's Ancient Jewellery, New York, 6 December 2007, no.338.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12582-232140.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Literature

See the Walters Art Museum, no.42.870, for a similar style Roman intaglio with Ouroboros.

Footnotes

The image of Ouroboros (a snake eating its own tail) is usually associated with stars and Egyptian mythology as represented in Roman gnostic intaglios. Ouroboros is continuously re-birthing itself and depicted as a circle, representing eternity and the cyclical nature of things that start once they end. It is also the symbol of duality and dualising power.