Lot Essay
For the subject compare the slightly more elaborate version on a sardonyx cameo in the Cabinet des Mèdailles, no. 140 in Richter, Engraved Gems of the Romans.
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PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE EUROPEAN COLLECTION
A ROMAN GLASS CAMEO
CIRCA 1ST CENTURY A.D.
Details
A ROMAN GLASS CAMEO
Circa 1st Century A.D.
Of layered opaque white and dark purple, circular in form, with Venus seated in the center, the goddess in a chiton which reveals her right breast, her gaze angled up towards Eros who stands on her lap, clad in a mantle, a female attendant supporting him from the right, her mantle draped around her legs, her back and the upper portion of her buttocks exposed, Silenus standing to the left leaning sharply forward to admire the scene, supporting himself on his left hand, which he extends forward and rests on a tree, his right hand behind his back, a mirror or cymbal hanging from the tree, the scene on a thick groundline
1½ in. (3.8 cm) diameter
Circa 1st Century A.D.
Of layered opaque white and dark purple, circular in form, with Venus seated in the center, the goddess in a chiton which reveals her right breast, her gaze angled up towards Eros who stands on her lap, clad in a mantle, a female attendant supporting him from the right, her mantle draped around her legs, her back and the upper portion of her buttocks exposed, Silenus standing to the left leaning sharply forward to admire the scene, supporting himself on his left hand, which he extends forward and rests on a tree, his right hand behind his back, a mirror or cymbal hanging from the tree, the scene on a thick groundline
1½ in. (3.8 cm) diameter
Provenance
Acquired in the 1960's-1970's