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Scarab with a courtship scene
Greek
Late Archaic Period
early 5th century B.C.
Medium/Technique
Carnelian
Dimensions
Length: 16 mm (5/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Edward Perry and Fiske Warren
Accession Number08.289
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsJewelry, Ancient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Scarabs and scaraboids
DescriptionOrange-brown carnelian. Scarab with a flat, oval base engraved in intaglio; pierced lengthwise; set in a modern gold swivel mount. Bearded man in profile to left, nude except for some drapery over his shoulders and knotted staff, extending his right arm towards the genitalia of a facing woman or youth, clad in a long chiton, reaching for his neck. Cable border. Back carved as a beetle with a ridged back. V-shaped hatched line between thorax and elytra. Plastic, but crude, hatched legs. Offset plinth. Small chips missing near the stringholes.
ProvenanceBy date unknown: with Edward Perry Warren and Fiske Warren; gift of Edward Perry and Fiske Warren to MFA, May 1, 1908