CIRCA LATE 5TH-4TH CENTURY B.C.

Details

A GRECO-PERSIAN BLUE CHALCEDONY SCARABOID OF A HERON
CIRCA LATE 5TH-4TH CENTURY B.C.
13/16 in. (2 cm.) long

Provenance

said to be from Taranto.
‌Giorgio Sangiorgi (1886-1965), Rome, acquired and brought to Switzerland, late 1930s; thence by continuous descent to the current owner.

Literature

J. Boardman and C. Wagner, Masterpieces in Miniature: Engraved Gems from Prehistory to the Present, London, 2018, p. 82, no. 73.

Special notice

This lot has been imported from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice. The USA prohibits the purchase by US persons of Iranian-origin “works of conventional craftsmanship” such as carpets, textiles, decorative objects, and scientific instruments. The US sanctions apply to US persons regardless of the location of the transaction or the shipping intentions of the US person. For this reason, Christie’s will not accept bids by US persons on this lot. Non-US persons wishing to import this lot into the USA are advised that they will need to apply for an OFAC licence and that this can take many months to be granted.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Claudio Corsi Specialist, Head of Department

ccorsi@christies.com +44 (0) 20 7389 2607

Lot Essay

The elegant bird is standing facing right, with just its tail feathers heightened with incision and its eye and legs drilled. For a similar standing bird on one side of a prism seal, cf. J. Boardman, Greek Gems and Finger Rings, London, 1970, pl. 934.

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