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Oval gem with Bellerophon mastering Pegasus
Roman
Late Republican Period
about 50–30 B.C.
Medium/Technique
Carnelian
Dimensions
Overall: 2.9 x 1.7 x 2.2 cm (1 1/8 x 11/16 x 7/8 in.)
Overall (gem, as preserved): 1.6 x 1.8 cm (5/8 x 11/16 in.)
Overall (gem, as preserved): 1.6 x 1.8 cm (5/8 x 11/16 in.)
Credit Line
Bartlett Collection—Museum purchase with funds from the Francis Bartlett Donation of 1912
Accession Number27.737
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsJewelry, Ancient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Gems
Catalogue Raisonné
Lewes House Gems, no. 135 (1920; 2002, additional published references).
DescriptionBrownish-red carnelian (also called sard). Intaglio, set in modern gold ring. The hero Bellerophon stands nude, facing left, his legs and feet braced as he struggles with the winged horse Pegasus. His left foot is frontal and his right leg is bent at the knee; his chlamys (cloak) flutters behind him. To Bellerophon’s right, Pegasus is forced almost into a seated position, his body foreshortened and his rear legs splayed. The figures are positioned on a ground line. The upper third of the gem is missing and the outer part of the hero’s left foot is broken away. The fragmentary inscription reads, in Greek, “URIDOU.” It has been reconstructed as “Dioskourides,” the name of a famous gem engraver.
Signed
[DIOSKO]URIDES
Inscriptions[ ]ΥΡΙΔΟΥ
Provenance1918, said to have been found in a vineyard in Rome and sold to an unknown dealer; sold to another unknown dealer; 1919, sold by this dealer to Edward Perry Warren (b. 1860 - d. 1928), Rome and London [see note 1]; 1927, sold by Edward Perry Warren to the MFA for $161,000 [see note 2]. (Accession Date: November 17, 1927)
NOTES:
[1] According to J. D. Beazley, The Lewes House Collection of Ancient Gems, no. 135: found in 1918 by a man working in a vigna in Rome and passed through two dealers before being purchased by Edward Perry Warren in Rome. [2] Warren first lent this to the MFA in 1926 (loan no. 81.26). The purchase price is the total for MFA accession nos. 27.647 - 27.761.
NOTES:
[1] According to J. D. Beazley, The Lewes House Collection of Ancient Gems, no. 135: found in 1918 by a man working in a vigna in Rome and passed through two dealers before being purchased by Edward Perry Warren in Rome. [2] Warren first lent this to the MFA in 1926 (loan no. 81.26). The purchase price is the total for MFA accession nos. 27.647 - 27.761.