¹⁄₂ in. (1.3 cm.) long

Giorgio Sangiorgi (1886-1965), Rome, acquired and brought to Switzerland, late 1930s; thence by continuous descent to the current owner.

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Lot Essay

Engraved on this small flat oval ringstone is a chariot pulled by two snakes on a groundline, with an eagle descending from above. The subject is an unusual one. Related is the gem impression in the Beazley Archive Gem Database, no. 346, in which an eagle sits within the snake-driven chariot. The subject may be connected to Ceres, who drives a snake-driven chariot on gems and coins (see nos. 79-81 in S. De Angeli, "Demeter/Ceres," in LIMC, vol. IV).