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Source Description
Gem engraving was a major art form in ancient Greece and Rome. Precious stones were thought to have healing and protective powers and were used as amulets and seals as well as jewelry. Engraved or incised gems, known as intaglios, were often decorated with winged creatures, such as the sphinx and the griffin. This scarab or scaraboid intaglio bears an image of a crouching griffin in profile to the right on the underside.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
26264
label
Scarab or Scaraboid Intaglio with a Griffin Set in a Swivel Ring
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
26264
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Scarab or Scaraboid Intaglio with a Griffin Set in a Swivel Ring
description
Gem engraving was a major art form in ancient Greece and Rome. Precious stones were thought to have healing and protective powers and were used as amulets and seals as well as jewelry. Engraved or incised gems, known as intaglios, were often decorated with winged creatures, such as the sphinx and the griffin. This scarab or scaraboid intaglio bears an image of a crouching griffin in profile to the right on the underside.
provenance
Alfred Morrison, London, by 1898 [mode of acquisition unknown]; A. Morrison Sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, June 29, 1898, lot 48; Charles Newton-Robinson, London, by 1904, [mode of acquisition unknown]; Charles Newton-Robinson sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 22 June 1909, lot 7; Dikran Kelekian, New York and Paris, 1909, by purchase [Smith as agent]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1909, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
5th century BCE (Late Archaic-Classical)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
intaglios (sculptural objects)
scarabs
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
W: 11/16 in. (1.8 cm)
Source extras
cul
Greek
RelatedObjects
3271
med
carnelian; mount: gold
creator_ids
6256
collection_ids
GRC
JWL
exhibition_ids
2054
2177
2513
2704
2121
2930
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
908291294fef3df1