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View: Seal and cast
Square gem with cupids making perfume (unguentarii)
Roman
Imperial Period
1st century A.D.
Medium/Technique
Glass
Dimensions
Overall: 3.3 x 3.7 x 0.4 cm (1 5/16 x 1 7/16 x 3/16 in.)
Credit Line
Henry Lillie Pierce Fund
Accession Number98.746
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsJewelry, Ancient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Gems
DescriptionExplicit details of perfume manufacturing are represented in three registers on this glass intaglio. Six winged erotes (cupids or amorini) are shown in the production of perfume, an industry that is well known in Campania (especially Capua).
In the top register, two erotes raise their mallets to hammer wedges for the oil press (so-called wedge press) that is designed explicitly for extracting fine oils needed in the production of perfumes. The oil is coming out of the press into a large bowl. In the middle register, two other erotes are off to the side pounding something, presumably the flowers (?) in a mortar. At the bottom, an eros is seated and mixing a large cauldron, while another is crouching beside a cauldron/mortar heating on a brazier. These scenes follow closely in their detail several wall paintings from Pompeian houses. To the right a large herm overlooks the scene and suggests it takes place outdoors.
In the top register, two erotes raise their mallets to hammer wedges for the oil press (so-called wedge press) that is designed explicitly for extracting fine oils needed in the production of perfumes. The oil is coming out of the press into a large bowl. In the middle register, two other erotes are off to the side pounding something, presumably the flowers (?) in a mortar. At the bottom, an eros is seated and mixing a large cauldron, while another is crouching beside a cauldron/mortar heating on a brazier. These scenes follow closely in their detail several wall paintings from Pompeian houses. To the right a large herm overlooks the scene and suggests it takes place outdoors.
ProvenanceBy 1897, Michal Tyszkiewicz (b. 1828 - d. 1897), Rome; June 8 - 10, 1898, posthumous Tyszkiewicz sale, Hotel Drouot, Paris, lot 80; 1898, Edward Perry Warren (b. 1860 - d. 1928), Rome and London; 1898, sold by Warren to the MFA for $69,618.13 [see note]. (Accession Date: September 20, 1898)
Note: This is the total price for MFA accession nos. 98.641-98.940.
Note: This is the total price for MFA accession nos. 98.641-98.940.