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Cameo with Aurora driving a chariot
Roman
Republican or Imperial Period
1st century B.C.–1st century A.D.
Medium/Technique
Sardonyx
Dimensions
Overall: 4.4 x 3.5 x 0.8 cm (1 3/4 x 1 3/8 x 5/16 in.)
Overall (gem): 3.9 x 2.8 cm (1 9/16 x 1 1/8 in.)
Overall (gem): 3.9 x 2.8 cm (1 9/16 x 1 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
Henry Lillie Pierce Fund
Accession Number99.107
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsJewelry, Ancient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Cameos
DescriptionWhite on brown layered onyx. Cameo, mounted in modern gold setting as a pendant. Aurora (Dawn) drives a biga (two-horse chariot) to the left. Her drapery flutters behind her in a semicircle around her head. Part of the head, left foreleg, and left back leg of the outer horse are missing. A pin has been inserted into the gem to serve as the chariot’s axle.
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 271, 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 271 to W. T. Ready for £82 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.