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Cameo with a young satyr supporting a bearded Silenus
Roman
Republican or Imperial Period
1st century B.C.–1st century A.D.
Medium/Technique
Sardonyx
Dimensions
Overall: 0.4 x 2 x 1.6 cm (1/8 x 3/4 x 5/8 in.)
Credit Line
Bartlett Collection—Museum purchase with funds from the Francis Bartlett Donation of 1912
Accession Number27.755
CollectionsJewelry, Ancient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Cameos
Catalogue Raisonné
Lewes House Gems, no. 131 (1920; 2002).
DescriptionWhite on brown layered onyx. Cameo, set in modern gold ring. A young satyr pushes or supports the shoulder of a bearded Silenus who wears a short garment about his loins. The Silenus seems to be pulling something or somebody – perhaps the figure holding the thyrsus (ritual staff) which passes behind the satyr and Silenus. It is likely that they are participating in a celebratory procession dedicated to the god Bacchus. The carving is worn. A large portion of the cameo is missing.
ProvenanceThomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel (b. 1585 - d. 1646); by descent to his great-grandson, Henry Howard, 7th Duke of Norfolk (b. 1655 - d. 1701) and his wife, Mary Howard, Duchess of Norfolk (b. 1659 - d. 1705); bequeathed by Mary Howard to her second husband, John Germain (b. 1650 - d. 1718), 1st Bt.; bequeathed by John Germain to his second wife and widow, Elizabeth Berkeley Germain (b. 1680 - d. 1769); 1762, given by Elizabeth Germain to her great-niece, Mary Beauclerk (b. 1743 - d. 1812), upon her marriage to Lord Charles Spencer (b. 1740 - d. 1820); to his brother, George Spencer (b. 1789 – d. 1817), 4th Duke of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace; by descent to John Winston Spencer-Churchill (b. 1822 – d. 1883), 7th Duke of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace [see note 1]; June 28-July 1, 1875, Marlborough Gems sale, Christie, Manson and Woods, London, lot 206, collection sold en bloc to David Bromilow (d. 1898), Bitteswell Hall, Lutterworth; 1898, by descent to his daughter, Julia Harriet Mary Jary; June 26, 1899, sold by Mrs. Jary, The Marlborough Gems sale, Christie, Manson and Woods, London, lot 206 sold for 71 gns to Whelan. July 11, 1910, Schröder Collection posthumous sale, Christie’s, lot 63 to Feuardent for 60 gns; by 1926, Edward Perry Warren (b. 1860 – d. 1928), London; April 5, 1926, lent by Edward Perry Warren to the MFA; 1927, sold by Edward Perry Warren for $161,000 [see note 2] to the MFA. (Accession Date: November 17, 1927)
NOTES:
[1] On the history of the Marlborough Gem collection, see the introduction to the 1875 Christie's auction catalog and John Boardman, The Marlborough Gems (2010).
[2] This figure is the total price for MFA 27.647-27.761.
NOTES:
[1] On the history of the Marlborough Gem collection, see the introduction to the 1875 Christie's auction catalog and John Boardman, The Marlborough Gems (2010).
[2] This figure is the total price for MFA 27.647-27.761.