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Lot Essay
Kneeling semi-draped, Nike is pulling back the head of a sacrificial bull, holding a long knife in her right hand. M. L. Vollenwider suggests an attribution of the original gem to Aulos, perhaps commemorating Augustus's Armenian victory, circa 20 B.C. (Die Steinschneidekunst und ihre Künstler in spätrepublikanischer und augusteischer Zeit, Baden-Baden, 1966, no. 43, note 33, pl. 334,3.5)
Similar glass paste gems can be found in the Getty Museum (J. Spier, Ancient Gems and Finger Rings: Catalogue of the Collections of the J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, 1992, no. 424), and the British Museum (H. B. Walters, Catalogue of Engraved Gems & Cameos, Greek, Etruscan & Roman in the British Museum, London, 1926, nos 3034-3035 (inv. nos 1814,0704.1489 and 1923,0401.636). The latter, like the gem above, shows an altar behind, wreathed with branches.
Similar glass paste gems can be found in the Getty Museum (J. Spier, Ancient Gems and Finger Rings: Catalogue of the Collections of the J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, 1992, no. 424), and the British Museum (H. B. Walters, Catalogue of Engraved Gems & Cameos, Greek, Etruscan & Roman in the British Museum, London, 1926, nos 3034-3035 (inv. nos 1814,0704.1489 and 1923,0401.636). The latter, like the gem above, shows an altar behind, wreathed with branches.