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Scaraboid gem with a statue of Athena (the Palladion)
Greek
Classical Period
400–350 B.C.
Medium/Technique
Carnelian
Dimensions
Length: 20 mm (13/16 in.)
Credit Line
Bartlett Collection—Museum purchase with funds from the Francis Bartlett Donation of 1912
Accession Number23.583
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsJewelry, Ancient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Scarabs and scaraboids
Catalogue Raisonné
Lewes House Gems, no. 057 (1920; 2002, additional published references).
DescriptionIntaglio. Pierced for stringing (horizontal) Motif oriented vertically. A statue of armed Athena (the Palladion), viewed frontally, holding shield in right hand, spear in raised left hand, wearing a chiton and himation, and triple-crested helmet. Locks of hair, each rendered by a line of pellets, hang from under the helmet on either side of face. Knotted fillets with tassel at bottom hang from the spear and the inside of the shield. Device on shield: a wheel. Statue is in a striding stance, with right leg in front of the left. Statue situated on round base, inscribed with the Greek letters 'alpha' and 'delta'. In the field at right, a bull's skull (bucranium).
ProvenanceBy 1899-1900: with Edward Perry Warren (according to J. D. Beazley, The Lewes House Collection of Ancient Gems, no. 57: bought in Naples, 1899-1900); November 21, 1923: purchased by MFA from Edward Perry Warren for $ 32,948.27 (this figure is the total purchase price for MFA 23.576-23.594)