Details

LOT 0140

Roman Carnelian Gemstone with Horse and Cavalry Man

3RD-2ND CENTURY B.C.

3/8 in. (0.27 grams, 9 mm).

The rounded intaglio with a horseman, helmetted or wearing a causia, with flying cloak, riding towards left.

Provenance

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

Literature

Cf. Walters, H.B., Catalogue of Engraved Gems & Cameos, Greek, Etruscan & Roman in the British Museum, London, 1926, no.1010, for similar.

Footnotes

The cap (kausia) was typical of Hellenistic military dress and had been worn by cavalrymen since Alexander’s campaigns of the 4th century BC. The gemstone could represent an Italic cavalrymen, a socius (ally) of the Roman army. Another possibility is that the gemstone follows Etruscan influence, like the example in the British Museum, accession no. 1872,0604.156. The kausia cap had also its metallic counterpart, worn by the Tarentine cavalrymen of the Hellenistic period.