HELLENISTIC PERIOD, CIRCA LATE 3RD-EARLY 2ND CENTURY B.C.

Details

A GREEK GLASS RINGSTONE WITH A PORTRAIT BUST OF PRUSIAS I OF BITHYNIA
HELLENISTIC PERIOD, CIRCA LATE 3RD-EARLY 2ND CENTURY B.C.
½ in. (1.1 cm.) long; ring size 8 ½

Provenance

Paul (Paulus) von Praun (1548-1616), Nuremberg and Bologna; thence by continuous descent within his family.
Sibylle Mertens-Schaaffhausen (1797-1857), Cologne and Rome, acquired from the above, 1839; thence by descent.
Catalogue des collections laissées par feu Madame Mertens Schaaffhausen, seconde partie, J.M. Heberle (H. Lempertz), Cologne, 12 July 1859 (and following days), lot 1077.
M.H. Nevil Story-Maskelyne (1823-1911), Wroughton, Wiltshire, acquired 1860-1899; thence by descent to his son-in-law, William Arnold-Forster (1886-1951), Cornwall.
Catalogue of the Story-Maskelyne Collection of Ancient Gems, the Property of W.E. Arnold Forster, Esq., Sotheby's, London, 4-5 July 1921, lot 213 (part).
Landsberg, acquired from the above (according to auctioneer’s book).
Marjorie Bronfman (1917-2012), Montreal, acquired by 1978; gifted to her daughter, Dr. Corinne Bronfman (1947-2022), Washington, D.C.; thence by descent to the current owner.

Literature

C. T. de Murr, Description du Cabinet de Monsieur Paul de Praun a Nuremberg, Nuremberg, 1797, p. 323, no. 728.

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

The Kingdom of Bithynia, located along the northern coast of Anatolia along the Black Sea, was established during the Wars of the Diadochi following the death of Alexander the Great. Prusius I Cholus (“the Lame”) was born circa 243 B.C. and succeeded his father as the third king in circa 228 B.C. and reigned until his death in 182 B.C.

This portrait bust conforms to his image found on coins minted during his reign: he has an aquiline nose, a short beard along his jawline with no mustache, and a diadem in his wavy hair (see no. 191 in N. Davis and C.M. Kraay, The Hellenistic Kingdoms, Portrait Coins and History). This gem is mounted as a ring in an 18th century or earlier gold setting.

This gem was originally in the collection of Paulus Praun (1548-1616), a merchant from Nuremberg who amassed a huge collection of paintings, drawings, prints, coins, sculpture and engraved gems. His collection remained in the family until it was sold in the late 18th century. It was later in the collection of Sibylle Mertens-Schaaffhausen (1797-1857) who exhibited her collection on the top floor of her house in Bonn, until it was sold at auction in 1859.

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