Sale Overview
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Christie’s is pleased to announce Part II of Masterpieces in Miniature: Ancient Engraved Gems Formerly in the G. Sangiorgi Collection, to be sold online during our Classic Week auctions, June 2nd-16th. Spanning the Classical world from the 7th century B.C. to the Byzantine and later European period in the 16th century A.D., the sale comprises 30 lots of the most sought-after and captivating gems still in private hands. Enchanting collectors and connoisseurs alike, this sale offers timeless artifacts that open a window into the collecting history of the early 20th century. The engraved gems presented here, the second group to be offered at Christie's, represent only a small portion of a much larger collection originally assembled by Giorgio Sangiorgi (1886-1965). Part of the collection was recently published by Sir John Boardman and Claudia Wagner, Masterpieces in Miniature: Engraved Gems from Prehistory to the Present, London, 2018. Several originate from famous older collections with provenance back to the Renaissance.