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This intaglio depicts the centaur Cheiron teaching Achilles how to play the lyre. He has a long beard and hair arranged in a thick roll around his head. A loose piece of cloth or animal skin hangs over his right shoulder. Achilles, on the left, holds a lyre as Cheiron, on the right, kneels and reaches out to him. To the right is a tree. The musical education of Achilles by Cheiron is a particularly popular theme on gems. The first literary reference to Cheiron’s instruction of Achilles in music is from Ovid (Ars Amatoria 1.11), but Achilles' lyre-playing is already mentioned in the Iliad (9.186-89).
Page data
- Page
- 1
- Source index
- 0
- Type
- photo
- Media ID
- 7720c3e702ae87f4
- Size
- unknown
Document data
- ID
- 13447
- Core
- obj
- Type
- object
DTO data
{
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"sourceUrl": "https://purl.thewalters.org/art/42.1161",
"contentType": "object",
"stage": "normalized",
"title": "Intaglio with Achilles and Cheiron Set in a Ring",
"description": "This intaglio depicts the centaur Cheiron teaching Achilles how to play the lyre. He has a long beard and hair arranged in a thick roll around his head. A loose piece of cloth or animal skin hangs over his right shoulder. Achilles, on the left, holds a lyre as Cheiron, on the right, kneels and reaches out to him. To the right is a tree. The musical education of Achilles by Cheiron is a particularly popular theme on gems. The first literary reference to Cheiron’s instruction of Achilles in music is from Ovid (Ars Amatoria 1.11), but Achilles' lyre-playing is already mentioned in the Iliad (9.186-89).",
"provenance": "John Stanhope, London, by 1748, [mode of acquisition unknown]; Philip Dormer Stanhope, fourth Earl of Chesterfield, London, 1748, by bequest; William Ponsonby, second Earl of Bessborough, Parkstead House, London, by 1761, by purchase [Bessborough no. 31 C]; George Spencer, fourth Duke of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, ca. 1765, by purchase [Marlborough no. 339]; George Spencer-Churchill, fifth Duke of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, 1817, by bequest; George Spencer-Churchill, sixth Duke of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, 1840, by bequest; John Spencer-Churchill, seventh Duke of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, 1857, by bequest; Sale, The Marlborough Gems, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 28 June 1875, p. 54, lot 339; David Bromilow, Bitteswell Hall, Leicestershire, ca. 1875, by purchase; Julia Bromilow Jary, Bitteswell Hall, Leicestershire, 1898, by bequest; Sale, The Marlborough Gems Purchased by the Late David Bromilow, esq., Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 26 June 1899, p. 61, lot 339; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1899, by purchase [Dikran Kelekian as agent]; Sadie Jones (Mrs. Henry Walters), New York, 1931, by bequest; Joseph Brummer, Paris and New York, 1941, by purchase [Brummer inv. no. N5143a]; Walters Art Museum, 1942, by purchase.",
"date": "2nd-1st century BC (Roman Imperial)",
"citationUrl": "https://purl.thewalters.org/art/42.1161",
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"language": "en",
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"dimensionsRaw": "Intaglio H: 1/2 × W: 3/8 in. (1.3 × 0.9 cm). Ring max diam: 13/16 × Hoop: 13/16 × Bezel H: 9/16 in. (2.1 × 2.1 × 1.4 cm)."
}
Context sent to Scholar
Document identity
{
"localId": "13447",
"label": "Intaglio with Achilles and Cheiron Set in a Ring",
"core": "obj",
"dtoType": "object",
"citationUrl": "https://purl.thewalters.org/art/42.1161"
}
Document source metadata
{
"id": "13447",
"sourceUrl": "https://purl.thewalters.org/art/42.1161",
"contentType": "object",
"stage": "normalized",
"title": "Intaglio with Achilles and Cheiron Set in a Ring",
"description": "This intaglio depicts the centaur Cheiron teaching Achilles how to play the lyre. He has a long beard and hair arranged in a thick roll around his head. A loose piece of cloth or animal skin hangs over his right shoulder. Achilles, on the left, holds a lyre as Cheiron, on the right, kneels and reaches out to him. To the right is a tree. The musical education of Achilles by Cheiron is a particularly popular theme on gems. The first literary reference to Cheiron’s instruction of Achilles in music is from Ovid (Ars Amatoria 1.11), but Achilles' lyre-playing is already mentioned in the Iliad (9.186-89).",
"provenance": "John Stanhope, London, by 1748, [mode of acquisition unknown]; Philip Dormer Stanhope, fourth Earl of Chesterfield, London, 1748, by bequest; William Ponsonby, second Earl of Bessborough, Parkstead House, London, by 1761, by purchase [Bessborough no. 31 C]; George Spencer, fourth Duke of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, ca. 1765, by purchase [Marlborough no. 339]; George Spencer-Churchill, fifth Duke of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, 1817, by bequest; George Spencer-Churchill, sixth Duke of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, 1840, by bequest; John Spencer-Churchill, seventh Duke of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, 1857, by bequest; Sale, The Marlborough Gems, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 28 June 1875, p. 54, lot 339; David Bromilow, Bitteswell Hall, Leicestershire, ca. 1875, by purchase; Julia Bromilow Jary, Bitteswell Hall, Leicestershire, 1898, by bequest; Sale, The Marlborough Gems Purchased by the Late David Bromilow, esq., Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 26 June 1899, p. 61, lot 339; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1899, by purchase [Dikran Kelekian as agent]; Sadie Jones (Mrs. Henry Walters), New York, 1931, by bequest; Joseph Brummer, Paris and New York, 1941, by purchase [Brummer inv. no. N5143a]; Walters Art Museum, 1942, by purchase.",
"date": "2nd-1st century BC (Roman Imperial)",
"citationUrl": "https://purl.thewalters.org/art/42.1161",
"rightsUri": "CC0",
"language": "en",
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"intaglios (sculptural objects)",
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"source": "import",
"dimensions": [
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"width": 1.3,
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],
"dimensionsRaw": "Intaglio H: 1/2 × W: 3/8 in. (1.3 × 0.9 cm). Ring max diam: 13/16 × Hoop: 13/16 × Bezel H: 9/16 in. (2.1 × 2.1 × 1.4 cm)."
}
Document source extras
{
"cul": "Roman",
"med": "jasper; mount: gold",
"creator_ids": [
"2185"
],
"collection_ids": [
"GRC",
"ROM",
"JWL"
],
"exhibition_ids": [
"2089"
]
}
Page context
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