Details
An antique cornelian intaglio seal ring
The oval intaglio depicting a bacchantic sacrificial scene of a bearded man offering a serpent to an altar with ram's head above a herm of a satyr with standing female in attendance, in later gold ring mount, the intaglio probably 17th century
The oval intaglio depicting a bacchantic sacrificial scene of a bearded man offering a serpent to an altar with ram's head above a herm of a satyr with standing female in attendance, in later gold ring mount, the intaglio probably 17th century
Special notice
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.
Further details
C.f. A. B. Chadour, Rings, the Alice and Louis Koch collection, p.402, no. 1288, for a hardstone cameo representing a similar design. It is stated that the same motif appears on a cameo signed Giovanni Pichler but the image is probably taken from an ancient prototype. According to Ophites the serpent was instructed in all knowledge and the ancients thought they could interpret the future through them.
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