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Oval gem with head of a Ptolemaic queen
Greek
Hellenistic Period
3rd–2nd century B.C.
Medium/Technique
Garnet
Dimensions
Length x width x depth: 18 × 13 × 3 mm (11/16 × 1/2 × 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
Bartlett Collection—Museum purchase with funds from the Francis Bartlett Donation of 1912
Accession Number27.709
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsJewelry, Ancient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Gems
Catalogue Raisonné
Lewes House Gems, no. 096 (1920; 2002, additional published references).
DescriptionIntaglio. Convex back; carved on flat side. Head of a woman, in profile to the left. Hair style, with three distinct sections: 1) fringe along her forehead is arranged in twisted curls, divided by a diadem from the next section; 2) wavy locks along the crown of her head; and 3) curls coiled into a bun along the back of her head, with short wavy locks escaping the bun along the nape of her neck. She wears a small hoop earring with three small beads suspended from it on a wire. There is a small crescent-shaped curl along her face, in front of her ear. She is wearing a garment, visible around her neck. She has lines on her neck and a slight double chin.
ProvenanceProbably Cardinal Francesco Boncompagni (b. 1596 – d. 1641), Rome [see note 1]. By 1897, Michal Tyszkiewicz (b. 1828 – d. 1897), Rome; June 8 - 10, 1898, posthumous Tyszkiewicz sale, Hotel Drouot, Paris, lot 285. By 1926, Edward Perry Warren (b. 1860 – d. 1928), London; 1926, loaned to MFA by Edward Perry Warren [note 2]; 1927, sold by Edward Perry Warren to the MFA $ 161,000 [note 3]. (Accession Date: November 17, 1927)
Notes:
[1]See catalog of the 1898 Tyszkiewicz sale. Most of the Boncompagni Ludovisi collection of gems was formed by Cardinal Francesco Boncompagni in the 17th century. However it is possible that his heir, Girolamo Boncompagni (b. 1622 - d. 1684), added to the collection. Upon his death in 1684, Girolamo willed his collection to the Ospedali della Vita e della Morte in Bologna. The family heir, Gregorio Boncompagni, disputed the will and eventually got the gem collection back (see https://villaludovisi.org/2013/05/22/new-from-1706-an-inventory-and-cash-assessment-of-coins-and-medals-in-the-museo-boncompagni-ludovisi-part-ii-of-ii/).
[2]As 82.26.
[3]Total price for MFA accession nos. 27.647-27.761.
Notes:
[1]See catalog of the 1898 Tyszkiewicz sale. Most of the Boncompagni Ludovisi collection of gems was formed by Cardinal Francesco Boncompagni in the 17th century. However it is possible that his heir, Girolamo Boncompagni (b. 1622 - d. 1684), added to the collection. Upon his death in 1684, Girolamo willed his collection to the Ospedali della Vita e della Morte in Bologna. The family heir, Gregorio Boncompagni, disputed the will and eventually got the gem collection back (see https://villaludovisi.org/2013/05/22/new-from-1706-an-inventory-and-cash-assessment-of-coins-and-medals-in-the-museo-boncompagni-ludovisi-part-ii-of-ii/).
[2]As 82.26.
[3]Total price for MFA accession nos. 27.647-27.761.