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Oval gem with bust of Cicero (?)
Roman
Late Republican Period
mid 1st century B.C.
Medium/Technique
Carnelian
Dimensions
Length x width: 11 x 10.5 mm (7/16 x 7/16 in.)
Credit Line
Henry Lillie Pierce Fund
Accession Number99.112
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsJewelry, Ancient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Gems
DescriptionIntaglio. Head in profile to the left, with high forehead and receding hairline, bald at the pate of the head. Two deep wrinkles across the forehead and "crow's feet" at the mall, deeply set eye. Crooked, sharp nose, and mouth slightly open.
ProvenanceThomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel (b. 1585 - d. 1646); by descent to his great-grandson, Henry Howard, 7th Duke of Norfolk (b. 1655 - d. 1701) and his wife, Mary Howard, Duchess of Norfolk (b. 1659 - d. 1705); bequeathed by Mary Howard to her second husband, John Germain (b. 1650 - d. 1718), 1st Bt.; bequeathed by John Germain to his second wife and widow, Elizabeth Berkeley Germain (b. 1680 - d. 1769); 1762, given by Elizabeth Germain to her great-niece, Mary Beauclerk (b. 1743 - d. 1812), upon her marriage to Lord Charles Spencer (b. 1740 - d. 1820); to his brother, George Spencer (b. 1789 – d. 1817), 4th Duke of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace; by descent to John Winston Spencer-Churchill (b. 1822 – d. 1883), 7th Duke of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace [see note 1]; June 28-July 1, 1875, Marlborough Gems sale, Christie, Manson and Woods, London, lot 517, collection sold en bloc to David Bromilow (d. 1898), Bitteswell Hall, Lutterworth; 1898, by descent to his daughter, Julia Harriet Mary Jary; June 26, 1899, sold by Mrs. Jary, The Marlborough Gems sale, Christie, Manson and Woods, London, lot 517 to W. T. Ready for £14 for Edward Perry Warren (b. 1860 – d. 1928), London; 1899, sold by Edward Perry Warren to the MFA for $16,502 [see note 2]. (Accession Date: January 1, 1899)
NOTES:
[1] On the history of the Marlborough Gem collection, see the introduction to the 1875 Christie's auction catalog and John Boardman, The Marlborough Gems (2010).
[2] This is the total price for MFA 99.101-99.119.
NOTES:
[1] On the history of the Marlborough Gem collection, see the introduction to the 1875 Christie's auction catalog and John Boardman, The Marlborough Gems (2010).
[2] This is the total price for MFA 99.101-99.119.