CLASSICAL PERIOD, CIRCA LATE 5TH CENTURY B.C.

Details

A GREEK BLUE CHALCEDONY SCARABOID WITH A HERON CATCHING A FROG
CLASSICAL PERIOD, CIRCA LATE 5TH CENTURY B.C.
13/16 in. (2 cm.) long

Provenance

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

Literature

G.M.A. Richter, "Unpublished Gems in Various Collections", in American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 61, New York, 1957, p. 264, pl. 81, fig. 5.
J. Boardman, Greek Gems and Finger Rings, London, 1970, 205, fig. 209.
H.C.L. Wiegandt, Die griechischen Siegel der klassischer Zeit: Ikonographischer Vergleich, Frankfurt am Main, 2009, p. 130, no. Eha75, pl. XCI.
J. Boardman and C. Wagner, Masterpieces in Miniature: Engraved Gems from Prehistory to the Present, London, 2018, p. 60, no. 52.

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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Lot Essay

This vibrant scaraboid depicts a heron lowering its head to catch a frog and testifies to the ability of fifth-century gem engravers to depict animals. There is no ground line or surrounding border, which Richter notes (op. cit. p. 264) gives spaciousness, suggesting the out-of-doors, in spite of its small scale.

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