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Scaraboid gem with a head of a bearded man
Greek
Classical Period
450–430 B.C.
Medium/Technique
Jasper
Dimensions
Length: 2.1 cm (13/16 in.); width: 1.7 cm (11/16 in.); thickness: 0.6 cm (1/4 in.)
Credit Line
Bartlett Collection—Museum purchase with funds from the Francis Bartlett Donation of 1912
Accession Number23.580
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsJewelry, Ancient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Scarabs and scaraboids
Catalogue Raisonné
Lewes House Gems, no. 050 (1920; 2002, additional published references).
DescriptionYellow jasper mottled with red. Intaglio. Set in a modern gold bezel. Pierced for stringing (vertical). Motif oriented vertically. Profile head of a bearded man, facing left. Inscribed in Greek across the top in two registers: 'Dexamenos Epoie' (Dexamenos made [it]).
Signed
add Greek
ProvenanceAccording to J. D. Beazley, The Lewes House Collection of Ancient Gems, no. 50: said to have been found in a tomb at Kara in Attica about 1860. It passed into the hands of Admiral Soteriades, and was later in the possession of Rhousopoulos; then in the Evans collection.); by date unknown: with Edward Perry Warren; November 21, 1923: purchased by MFA from Edward Perry Warren for $ 32,948.27 (this figure is the total purchase price for MFA 23.576-23.594)