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Oval gem with woman at fountain
Greek
Late Hellenistic Period
mid to late 1st century B.C.
Medium/Technique
Chalcedony
Dimensions
Length: 24 mm (15/16 in.)
Credit Line
Bartlett Collection—Museum purchase with funds from the Francis Bartlett Donation of 1912
Accession Number27.706
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsJewelry, Ancient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Gems
Catalogue Raisonné
Lewes House Gems, no. 134 (1920; 2002, additional published references).
DescriptionIntaglio. A standing woman, facing right, fills a small jar (oinochoe) at a fountain. She wears a long garment, tied at the waist creating a large drape, and a cloak (himation) around her shoulders and draped over her right arm. Her hair is tied up into a bun, with a bulbous fringe across her forehead. She stands on a ground line. With her right hand, she holds the jar under a spout that emerges from a rectangular façade. The fountain is indicated by a vertical line topped by two horizontal lines; it reaches to the level of the woman's shoulder. A small, round spout is situated off-center. A portion of the stone at the lower right is lost, cutting off the base of the fountain and the ground line.
ProvenanceBy date unknown: with Edward Perry Warren (according to J. D. Beazley, The Lewes House Collection of Ancient Gems, no. 134: formerly in the Evans Collection; published in a Paris sale catalogue [Margin: Coll. d'ami, 11 mai 1903, 73, no. 290]); April 5, 1926: loaned to MFA by Edward Perry Warren (as 64.26); November 17, 1927: purchased by MFA from Edward Perry Warren for $ 161,000.00 (this figure is the total price for MFA 27.647-27.761)