CLASSICAL PERIOD, CIRCA 450-425 B.C.

Details

A GREEK AGATE BARREL WITH A HERON
CLASSICAL PERIOD, CIRCA 450-425 B.C.
¾ in. (2 cm.) long

Provenance

Humfry G.G. Payne (1902-1936), Oxford and Athens; thence by descent to his widow, Elizabeth Dilys Powell (1901-1995), London.
The Property of Miss Dilys Powell, C.B.E. (Mrs. Leonard Russell), from the Collection of Humfry Payne; Antiquities, Sotheby's, London, 10-11 December 1992, lot 249.
with Dr. Elie Borowski (1913-2003), Toronto and Jerusalem; thence by descent.
Acquired by the current owner from the above, 2011.

Literature

J. Boardman, Greek Gems and Finger Rings, London, 1970, p. 428, no. 130.
G.M. Bernheimer, Ancient Gems from the Borowski Collection, Ruhpolding, 2007, p. 45, no. CG-9.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Hannah Fox Solomon Head of Department, Specialist

hsolomon@christies.com +1 212 636 2256

Lot Essay

Most gems of the Classical Period take the form of the scarab beetle or scaraboid. More rarely the Greeks used a sliced cylinder or a barrel-shaped bead, as seen here. Greek barrel seals typically have a single figure, often a heron, meant to be impressed rather than rolled in the Near Eastern manner. For other examples see pls. 518-519 in J. Boardman, op. cit., and no. 55 in Boardman and C. Wagner, Masterpieces in Miniature: Engraved Gems from Prehistory to the Present.

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