CIRCA 17TH CENTURY

Details

A EUROPEAN GARNET RINGSTONE WITH THE PORTRAIT BUST OF AN EMPEROR
CIRCA 17TH CENTURY
1 3/16 in. (3 cm.) long

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, p. 154, no. 141.

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

Brought to you by

Claudio Corsi Specialist, Head of Department

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

Lot Essay

The large domed oval stone with concave back. The bust bears a likeness to the Emperor Antoninus Pius (AD 86-161) when compared to ancient coinage. He faces left and wears a laurel wreath in his thick hair, a cloak fixed with clasp over a corselet, the epaulette visible on his shoulder. For a very similar Renaissance cameo of the Emperor in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, dated to the 16th Century, see inv. no. 38.150.10.

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