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Source Description
This intaglio shows the draped bust of a woman, possibly Isis or a Ptolemaic queen, in profile to the left. She is wearing a crescent crown atop corkscrew curls, which are first seen in royal portraits on coins of Cleopatra I (ca. 205-176 BCE). The hair style and the small crown on her head associate her with the image of the goddess Isis, but the wide open eyes and the heavy chin are typical features in portraits of Ptolemaic rulers. Rings with skillfully cut portraits of rulers were introduced during the Hellenistic period. Sources suggest that such rings were bestowed as gifts on esteemed military leaders or high officials.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
4960
label
Intaglio with Bust of a Woman Set in a Ring
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
4960
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Intaglio with Bust of a Woman Set in a Ring
description
This intaglio shows the draped bust of a woman, possibly Isis or a Ptolemaic queen, in profile to the left. She is wearing a crescent crown atop corkscrew curls, which are first seen in royal portraits on coins of Cleopatra I (ca. 205-176 BCE). The hair style and the small crown on her head associate her with the image of the goddess Isis, but the wide open eyes and the heavy chin are typical features in portraits of Ptolemaic rulers. Rings with skillfully cut portraits of rulers were introduced during the Hellenistic period. Sources suggest that such rings were bestowed as gifts on esteemed military leaders or high officials.
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. 10 C]; George Spencer, fourth Duke of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, ca. 1765, by purchase [Marlborough no. 43]; 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. 7, lot 43; 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. 8, lot 43; 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 BCE (Hellenistic-Ptolemaic)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
finger rings
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
H: 3/4 in. (1.9 cm)
Source extras
dynasty
Ptolemaic Dynasty
med
garnet; mount: gold
creator_ids
6182
collection_ids
EGY
GRC
JWL
exhibition_ids
1954
2227
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
3bfe6be68d627010