Ask the Scholar

{
    "localId": "9513",
    "label": "Intaglio with an Athlete Set in a Ring",
    "core": "obj",
    "dtoType": "object",
    "citationUrl": "https://purl.thewalters.org/art/42.109"
}

{
    "id": "9513",
    "sourceUrl": "https://purl.thewalters.org/art/42.109",
    "contentType": "object",
    "stage": "normalized",
    "title": "Intaglio with an Athlete Set in a Ring",
    "description": "This intaglio depicts an athlete, frontally, pouring oil from an alabastron with his left hand. To the left is a water jug (hydria) on a table. The athlete may be a small-scale depiction of a famous Greek statue by one of the followers of the renowned sculptor Polykleitos (5th century BCE). The gem is inscribed vertically on the right with the name of a well-known gem-carver of the late 1st century BCE, ΓNAIOΥ (Gnaios). The intaglio has been largely abraded due to early modern cleaning.",
    "provenance": "Apostolo Zeno, Venice, by 1736, [mode of acquisition unknown]; Philipp von Stosch, Vienna, ca. 1739, [mode of acquisition unknown]; William Ponsonby, second Earl of Bessborough, Parkstead House, Roehampton, by 1754, [mode of acquisition unknown] [Bessborough no. 36]; George Spencer, fourth Duke of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, by ca. 1765, by purchase [Marlborough no. 621]; 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. 97, lot 621; 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. 108, lot 621; Mr. Ready, London, 1899, by purchase; Sir Thomas D. Gibson-Carmichael, London, by 1926, [mode of acquisition unknown]; Joseph Brummer, Paris and New York, 1926, by purchase [Brummer inv. no. P3276]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1927, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.",
    "date": "late 1st century BCE (Early Roman Imperial)",
    "citationUrl": "https://purl.thewalters.org/art/42.109",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Precious Stones & Gems",
        "intaglios (sculptural objects)",
        "gems",
        "finger rings"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://art.thewalters.org/images/art/PL9_42.109_Fnt_BW_H71.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://art.thewalters.org/images/art/PL9_42.109_Fnt_BW_H71.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://art.thewalters.org/images/art/PL9_42.109_Fnt_BW_H71.jpg",
    "imageCount": 7,
    "pageCount": 7,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensions": [
        {
            "units": "cm",
            "width": 1.8,
            "height": 1.5
        }
    ],
    "dimensionsRaw": "Intaglio H: 11/16 × W: 9/16 in. (1.8 × 1.5 cm); Intaglio with gold setting H: 13/16 × W: 3/4 × D: 1/8 in. (2.1 × 1.9 × 0.3 cm); Ring H: 13/16 × W: 7/8 × D: 3/4 in. (2.1 × 2.2 × 1.9 cm)"
}

{
    "cul": "Greco-Roman",
    "inscriptions": "[Signature] Gnaios",
    "med": "garnet; mount: gold",
    "creator_ids": [
        "15416",
        "3014"
    ],
    "collection_ids": [
        "GRC",
        "ROM",
        "JWL"
    ],
    "exhibition_ids": [
        "1994",
        "2994",
        "3390"
    ]
}

{
    "seq": 4,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "photo",
    "url": "https://art.thewalters.org/images/raw/PS4_42.109_Rt_DD_AT22_37775-tms.jpg",
    "mediaId": "0171d92c64a6670f"
}