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Oval gem with Theseus examining his father's sword
Roman
Imperial Period
late 1st century B.C.–1st century A.D.
Medium/Technique
Carnelian
Dimensions
2.4 cm (15/16 in.)
Credit Line
Bartlett Collection—Museum purchase with funds from the Francis Bartlett Donation of 1912
Accession Number27.731
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsJewelry, Ancient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Gems
Catalogue Raisonné
Lewes House Gems, no. 107 (1920; 2002, additional published references).
DescriptionRed carnelian. Intaglio. Slightly convex front, convex back; set in modern mount. Theseus is depicted nude, in profile right. He stands with his weight on his right leg and his left leg is relaxed, with the knee slightly bent. He bends his head to study a sheathed sword clasped before him with both hands; the right grips the bottom of the scabbard, while the left reaches out to grasp the scabbard below the hilt of the sword, near the strap. A shield lies on the ground before him, decorated with a gorgoneion (a small decorative medusa's head) framed by petals. The gem is broken into two pieces that are held together by the modern mount.
ProvenanceBy date unknown: Count Michel Tyszkiewicz Collection; 1898: auction of the M. Tyszkiewicz Collection, Hotel des Commissaires-Priseurs, 9 rue Drouot, Paris, June 8-10, lot 300; by date unknown: with Edward Perry Warren; April 5, 1926: loaned to MFA by Edward Perry Warren (as 60.26); November 17, 1927: purchased by MFA from Edward Perry Warren for $ 161,000.00 (this figure is the total price for MFA 27.647-27.761)