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Scaraboid gem with Danae receiving a shower of gold
Greek
Early Classical Period
480–450 B.C.
Medium/Technique
Jasper
Dimensions
Length: 20 mm (13/16 in.)
Credit Line
Henry Lillie Pierce Fund
Accession Number98.716
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsJewelry, Ancient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Scarabs and scaraboids
DescriptionIntaglio. Pierced for stringing (vertical). Motif oriented vertically. Danae in profile to the left, wearing long dress with long, vertical folds, and a shorter mantle. She stands in front of bed. Her hair is bound up in a cap (sakkos). At left, bed post, carved with curls and lines and topped with two pillows; bed frame extends to the right. Four rain drops fall into Danae's hands. Hatched border.
ProvenanceBy 1897, Michal Tyszkiewicz (b. 1828 - d. 1897), Rome [see note 1]; June 8 - 10, 1898, posthumous Tyszkiewicz sale, Hotel Drouot, Paris, lot 267. 1898, Edward Perry Warren (b. 1860 - d. 1928), Rome and London; 1898, sold by Warren to the MFA for $69,618.13 [note 2]. (Accession Date: September 20, 1898)
Notes:
[1]Said to have been found in Attica and bought from Rhousopoulos, according to E. P. Warren's records.
[2]Total price for MFA accession nos. 98.641-98.940.
Notes:
[1]Said to have been found in Attica and bought from Rhousopoulos, according to E. P. Warren's records.
[2]Total price for MFA accession nos. 98.641-98.940.