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Oval gem with head of Herakles
Greek or Roman
Hellenistic or Republican Period
2nd–1st century B.C.
Medium/Technique
Carnelian
Dimensions
Length: 43 mm (1 11/16 in.)
Credit Line
Henry Lillie Pierce Fund
Accession Number98.728
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsJewelry, Ancient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Gems
DescriptionIntaglio. Set in modern gold setting. Head of Herakles, facing left, wearing lion skin tied around his neck. The mouth of the lion is set back from his forehead, revealing two rows of tight curls. He has a large eye, a long, straight nose with a bump at the tip, and large nostrils.
ProvenanceBy 1897, Michal Tyszkiewicz (b. 1828 - d. 1897), Rome; June 8 - 10, 1898, posthumous Tyszkiewicz sale, Hotel Drouot, Paris, lot 294 (said to have been found on the Isthmus of Suez); 1898, Edward Perry Warren (b. 1860 - d. 1928), Rome and London; 1898, sold by Warren to the MFA for $69,618.13 [see note]. (Accession Date: September 20, 1898)
Note: this is the total price for MFA accession nos. 98.641-98.940.
Note: this is the total price for MFA accession nos. 98.641-98.940.