SUBGEOMETRIC, CIRCA EARLY 7TH CENTURY B.C.

Details

A GREEK BLACK SERPENTINE DOUBLE-SIDED DISK WITH A CENTAUR AND A WINGED HORSE
SUBGEOMETRIC, CIRCA EARLY 7TH CENTURY B.C.
7⁄8 in. (2.2 cm.) diameter

Provenance

Humfry G.G. Payne (1902-1936), Oxford and Athens; thence by descent to his widow, Elizabeth Dilys Powell (1901-1995), London.
The Property of Miss Dilys Powell, C.B.E. (Mrs. Leonard Russell), from the Collection of Humfry Payne; Antiquities, Sotheby's, London, 10-11 December 1992, lot 244.
with Dr. Elie Borowski (1913-2003), Toronto and Jerusalem; thence by descent.
Acquired by the current owner from the above, 2011.

Literature

J. Boardman, Island Gems: A Study of Greek Seals in the Geometric and Early Archaic Periods, London, 1963, p. 132, no. G33, pl. XVI.
J. Boardman, Greek Gems and Finger Rings, London, 1970, pp. 112, 134, pl. 211.
G.M. Bernheimer, Ancient Gems from the Borowski Collection, Ruhpolding, 2007, pp. 33-34, no. EG-2.

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

Seal usage had discontinued in Greece at the end of the Bronze Age. The practice was revived during the late Geometric Period, most likely through contact with the Near East. The seals could take various forms, such as tabloids or disks, and were cut from relatively soft materials such as serpentine and ivory. For a related seal of black steatite from Perachora, also depicting a centaur wielding a branch, see no. G25 in J. Boardman, Island Gems.

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