CIRCA 4TH CENTURY B.C.

Details

A GREEK CHALCEDONY SCARABOID WITH A CENTAUR AND A WOMAN
CIRCA 4TH CENTURY B.C.
15⁄16 in. (2.3 cm.) long

Provenance

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

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.

Sale room notice

A GREEK CHALCEDONY SCARABOID WITH A CENTAUR AND A WOMAN, CIRCA 4TH CENTURY B.C.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Claudio Corsi Specialist, Head of Department

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

Lot Essay

The domed side is engraved with the bacchic scene of a centaur trotting forwards, holding a kantharos in front and a branch over his shoulder, on his back, sitting side-saddle, is the figure of a semi-draped female, presumably a meanad, lifting her drapery up and over her head. For gems with a centaur playing the pipes with an eros on his back cf. M. Maaskant-Kleibrink, Catalogue of the Engraved Gems in the Royal Coin Cabinet The Hague, The Hague, 1978, p. 147, no. 242 and p. 181, no. 375.

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