ARCHAIC PERIOD, CIRCA LATE 7TH-EARLY 6TH CENTURY B.C.

Details

A GREEK GREEN SERPENTINE LENTOID "ISLAND GEM" WITH A CHIMAERA
ARCHAIC PERIOD, CIRCA LATE 7TH-EARLY 6TH CENTURY B.C.
11/16 in. (1.7 cm.) diameter

Provenance

Giorgio Sangiorgi (1886-1965), Rome, acquired and brought to Switzerland, late 1930s; thence by continuous descent to the current owner.

Literature

J. Boardman and C. Wagner, Masterpieces in Miniature: Engraved Gems from Prehistory to the Present, London, 2018, pp. 14-15, no. 9.

Special notice

This lot has been imported from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.

Conditions of sale

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Claudio Corsi Specialist, Head of Department

ccorsi@christies.com +44 (0) 20 7389 2607

Lot Essay

The chimaera was a popular subject for Island Gems (see J. Boardman, Island Gems, London, 1963, pp. 55-59). Here the monster is of characteristic form: depicted leonine, with a horned goat head at the tip of the wing, and a forked tail representing a snake, all on a double V-shaped groundline.

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