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Scaraboid gem with griffin
Greek
Classical Period
mid 5th to mid 4th century B.C.
Medium/Technique
Chalcedony(?)
Dimensions
Length: 23 mm (7/8 in.)
Credit Line
Henry Lillie Pierce Fund
Accession Number98.719
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsJewelry, Ancient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Scarabs and scaraboids
DescriptionChalcedony (burnt?). Intaglio. Partially pierced for mounting (horizontal); perforations are very shallow. Motif oriented horizontally. Crouching griffin with pointy ears and spiky mane faces right. Griffin has its mouth open and the tongue sticking out. Hatching along the underbelly of the griffin and striations along the griffin's upper body to represent fur. Motif situated on a faint ground line and there are dots in the exergue. Hatched border. Broken on back, convex side.
ProvenanceBy date unknown: with Edward Perry Warren (according to his records: from the Morrison sale, catalogue no. 31); 1898: purchased by MFA from Edward Perry Warren for $ 69,618.13 (this figure is the total price for MFA 98.641-98.940)