ARCHAIC PERIOD, CIRCA LATE 6TH CENTURY B.C.

Details

A GREEK CARNELIAN PSEUDO-SCARAB
ARCHAIC PERIOD, CIRCA LATE 6TH CENTURY B.C.
The beetle's head and legs indicated, its back sculpted in relief with a four-winged siren, her head in profile to the left, her human arms with fisted hands at her chest, her body crosshatched, the tail splayed; the underside engraved with a nude warrior running to the left, armed with a circular shield, a spear and a crested helmet, enclosed within a hatched border
½ in. (1.2 cm.) long

Provenance

James Carnegie, Ninth Earl of Southesk (1827-1905).
with Elias S. David (1891-1969), New York; thence by descent.

Literature

Lady H. Carnegie, Catalogue of the Collection of Antique Gems, formed by James, Ninth Earl of Southesk, London, 1908, p. 165, no. 603, pl. 2.
J. Boardman, Archaic Greek Gems, Schools and Artists in the Sixth and Early Fifth Centuries B.C., Evanston, 1968, p. 165, no. 603.

Special notice

This lot is offered without reserve.

Lot Essay

A pseudo-scarab, that is, a beetle with its back carved with a head or figure in relief in place of the insect, had a long history in Egypt and Syria-Palestine. The type was adopted in Cyprus, and from there found its way to Greece. They were particularly popular with the Western Greeks and Etruscans (see J. Boardman, Archaic Greek Gems, pp. 161-165).

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