Lot 154
154
A GREEK CARNELIAN RINGSTONE WITH A PROFILE HEAD OF MEDUSA
A GREEK CARNELIAN RINGSTONE WITH A PROFILE HEAD OF MEDUSA
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PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF DR. CORINNE BRONFMAN
A GREEK CARNELIAN RINGSTONE WITH A PROFILE HEAD OF MEDUSA

LATE HELLENISTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 1ST CENTURY B.C.

Details
A GREEK CARNELIAN RINGSTONE WITH A PROFILE HEAD OF MEDUSA
LATE HELLENISTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 1ST CENTURY B.C.
½ in. (1.3 cm.) long; ring size 7 ¾
Provenance
Marjorie Bronfman (1917-2012), Montreal, acquired by 1978; gifted to her daughter, Dr. Corinne Bronfman (1947-2022), Washington, D.C.; thence by descent to the current owner.

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Hannah Fox Solomon
Hannah Fox Solomon Head of Department, Specialist
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Lot Essay

Beginning in the Hellenistic period, monstrous depictions of Medusa were replaced by more feminine versions, with the only identifying attribute being a wing in her hair, as here, and occasionally snakes knotted around her neck. For the type see no. 218a in M. Henig, Classical Gems: Ancient and Modern Intaglios and Cameos in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. This gem is mounted as a ring in a 19th century gold setting.

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