Lot 279 | A FINE ROMAN MAGICAL CITRINE INTAGLIO. SEATED DOUBLE-HEADED BABOON WITH INSCRIPTION.

Bertolami Fine Art - Piazza Lovatelli 1, 00186 Roma
ASTA 267 - GLITTICA ASTA 267 - GLITTICA
Friday 7 July 2023 hours 12:30 (UTC +00:00)

A FINE ROMAN MAGICAL CITRINE INTAGLIO. SEATED DOUBLE-HEADED BABOON WITH INSCRIPTION.

A FINE ROMAN MAGICAL CITRINE INTAGLIO. SEATED DOUBLE-HEADED BABOON WITH INSCRIPTION.

2nd-3rd century A.D.

11x12x7mm

Showing a seated baboon with also a ram's head. The heads encrowned with the uraeus cobra and the sun. The baboon facing right his holding in his right hand a heart-shaped vase with drops to the ground. Groundline. This intriguing iconography refers to the egyptian divinities Thot as a baboon and Khnoum as a ram, both gods considered in the Ermopolis cosmogony as cretaing gods. On the backside, inscription "ΧΟΜΑCΟΜ". Beautiful conservation and very bright color of the stone.

Provenance: Ex Sangiorgi collection, acquired in the late 19th-early 20th century. This lot is sold under temporary import status.