Bertolami Fine Art - Riversdell Close 27, KT16 9JW Chertsey
Auction 86 - Glyptics and Ancient Jewelry sessione unica
Wednesday 9 December 2020 hours 14:00 (UTC +01:00)
A fine citrine quartz roman intaglio. Bust of Africa - Lybia.
A fine citrine quartz roman intaglio. Bust of Africa - Lybia.
1st century B.C. - 1st century A.D.
9,5 x 13 x 5 mm
Bust of Lybia - Africa in almost full front view, slightly in three-quarters. She wears an animal skin knotted on the chest and the hide of an elephant's head as a headdress. Long hair descend to her shoulder. An expressive face with almost three-dimensional relief effect , engraved with a very deep intaglio.
Extraordinary vivid color of the stone, of a great purity and brightness. Mirror polishing.
High thickness of the stone with convex back. Rare.
Parallels: G.M.A. Richter, p. 87 n. 383; cf. Furtwangler, Berl. Kat.,nos. 4883 ff. and A.G. pl. XXVI, 20, pl. XLI, 47. The same subject occurs also in coins
U.K., private collection 70's, in the same family since then.