Details
58 in. (1.5 cm.) long
Provenance
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. 110, no. 99.
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Lot Essay

Engraved on this flat oval ringstone is Prometheus, seated on a rock, fashioning a man out of clay. The upper skeleton is nearly complete, propped up on rocks. There is a groundline below, and the scene is framed by a hatched border. The subject was popular on Etruscan and Italic gems. For related examples see the ringstones, nos. 80-81a-d in J.-R. Gisler, "Prometheus," in LIMC, vol. VII.

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Masterpieces in Miniature: Ancient Engraved Gems formerly in the G. Sangiorgi Collection Part III
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