CIRCA 4TH-3RD CENTURY B.C.

Details

TWO ETRUSCAN CARNELIAN SCARABS
CIRCA 4TH-3RD CENTURY B.C.
5/8 in. (1.6 cm.) long max.

Provenance

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

Special notice

This lot is offered without reserve. 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.

Conditions of sale

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

Lot Essay

One scarab with the underside decorated with a domestic scene of a draped woman, wearing a long chiton with detailed border and himation draped over her arm, carrying a water jug and a branch, a lion's head water spout with stream of water emerging from it's mouth, all within a hatched border. For a similar depiction of a water spout cf. J. Spier, Ancient Gems and Finger Rings, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, 1992, p. 69, no. 141.
The other scarab in a globolo style with two frontal horses. For the type cf. J. Boardman and M-L. Vollenweider, Catalogue of the engraved Gems and Finer Rings, Greek and Etruscan, Oxford, 1978, pp. 62-65, nos 262-278, pl. XLII.

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