CIRCA 1ST CENTURY A.D.

Details

A ROMAN CARNELIAN INTAGLIO RINGSTONE
CIRCA 1ST CENTURY A.D.
The flat oval stone engraved with a female head, wearing diadem and himation drawn over head, a dagger in the field
¾ in. (1.6 cm.) high

Provenance

The Thétis Collection, Geneva, Switzerland; acquired prior to 1970.

Special notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 20% on the buyer's premium.

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Lot Essay

PUBLISHED:
J.-L. Zimmermann, Collection de la Fondation Thétis, Geneva, 1987, p. 93, no. 169.

It has been suggested that this represents Lucretia, wife of the governor Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, who according to Livy was known for her virtue and loyalty. She was raped by Sextus Tarquinius, the son of the legendary seventh and last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. Subsequently Lucretia revealed the crime to her husband and father, and prefering death to dishonour, took her own life with a dagger.

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