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Source Description
This scarab bears an image of a centaur facing the right with a raised arm holding a club carved in intaglio. On the right are one complete lion with its head turned back and the foreparts of a second lion. A line border surrounds the image. The parts of the scarab's back are carefully articulated. Most Archaic Greek gems were carved in the form of a scarab beetle. The type is ultimately of Egyptian origin and is thought to have passed to the Greeks via the Phoenicians probably on the island of Cyprus, which served as a crossroads for the eastern Mediterranean. The intaglio design and careful articulation of the beetle suggest a date in the early 6th century BCE.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
3271
label
Scarab with a Centaur and Two Lions Set in a Swivel Ring
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
3271
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Scarab with a Centaur and Two Lions Set in a Swivel Ring
description
This scarab bears an image of a centaur facing the right with a raised arm holding a club carved in intaglio. On the right are one complete lion with its head turned back and the foreparts of a second lion. A line border surrounds the image. The parts of the scarab's back are carefully articulated. Most Archaic Greek gems were carved in the form of a scarab beetle. The type is ultimately of Egyptian origin and is thought to have passed to the Greeks via the Phoenicians probably on the island of Cyprus, which served as a crossroads for the eastern Mediterranean. The intaglio design and careful articulation of the beetle suggest a date in the early 6th century BCE.
provenance
Charles Newton-Robinson, London, by 1909 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Collection of Newton-Robinson Sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, June 22, 1909, lot 14 [as from Idalion, Cyprus]; Dikran Kelekian, New York and Paris, 1909, by purchase; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1909, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
6th century BCE (Archaic)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
rings
intaglios
scarabs
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
1.8
height
2.1
dimensionsRaw
H: 11/16 x Diam: 13/16 in. (1.75 x 2.06 cm)
Source extras
cul
Greek
med
green basalt; mount: silver
creator_ids
6256
collection_ids
GRC
JWL
exhibition_ids
2513
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
9b73d4f564becb2c