Including an Etruscan carnelian scarab, the underside engraved in the a-globolo style with a draped figure holding a wreath and a cauldron from which emerges a nude figure; seven Roman carnelian gems, engraved with: Bacchus (3); head of Jupiter Serapis; a profile head, inscribed A. LVC; a profile head of Socrates; and an inscription, ΑΧΕΔΧΑΡIC; two of calcified carnelian: Bonus Eventus; a warrior supporting a fallen figure, perhaps Ajax and Achilles; one of greenish brown agate with a satyr; one of nicolo with a head of Jupiter Serapis; and an agate cameo with a profile draped bust; together with a 16th century agate with Bacchus, Ariadne and Cupid, most set in velvet mounts together with their wax impressions and labels handwritten by Sir Arthur Evans.
Largest 1¹⁄₈ in. (2.8 cm.) long

Sir Arthur Evans (1851-1941), England.
Private Collection, acquired by 1989.
with Bernard Boshan, Michigan, acquired at a local estate auction in the Midwest, U.S., 1997.
Acquired by the current owner from the above, 2018.

A. Evans, An Illustrative Selection of Greek and Roman Gems, Oxford, 1938, p. 25, no. 124 (carnelian Jupiter Serapis); p. 36, no. 206 (carnelian ringstone with inscription).
S.H. Middleton, Engraved Gems from Dalmatia, Oxford, 1991. p. 48, no. 32 (nicolo Jupiter Serapis); p. 83, no. 125 (calcified carnelian Bonus Eventus); pp. 93-94, no. 132 (calcified carnelian Ajax/Achilles); pp. 103-104, no. 178 (carnelian Bacchus); p. 110, no. 192 (carnelian profile head); p. 141, no. 277 (carnelian ringstone with inscription).

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Lot Essay

Sir Arthur Evans was most famous for his excavations at Knossos and for his position as Keeper at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. As a younger man, he travelled to the eastern Adriatic, including Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia, reporting for the Manchester Guardian. During these years he actively acquired ancient gems, especially in the former Roman province of Dalmatia, at ancient cities such as Salona, Epidaurum, and Risinium. Years later, some of his collection was exhibited at Oxford in 1938, and later that same year, at the Worcester Art Museum, by which time the collection had past to the dealer Dr. Jacob Hirsch (Evans sold most of his gem collection to finance the publication of his Cretan excavations). Impressions of many of the gems presented here are preserved at Oxford (see pp. 4-8 in Middleton, Engraved Gems from Dalmatia).