Francesca Hickin
Head of Department
Lot 23
A Greek pale green steatite "Island Gem"
28 November 2019, 10:30 GMT
London, New Bond StreetSold for £1,530 inc. premium
Looking for a similar item?
Our Antiquities specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.
Find your local specialistAsk about this lot
Anna Marston
Associate Specialist
A Greek pale green steatite "Island Gem"
Melos, circa late 7th-early 6th Century B.C.
The circular disc with incised designs on both flat faces: side A with a human figure flanked by branches, side B with a male and female figure in an erotic position, a branch in the field, pierced laterally for suspension, 1.8cm diam., 0.6cm deep
Melos, circa late 7th-early 6th Century B.C.
The circular disc with incised designs on both flat faces: side A with a human figure flanked by branches, side B with a male and female figure in an erotic position, a branch in the field, pierced laterally for suspension, 1.8cm diam., 0.6cm deep
Footnotes
Provenance:
Hans (1900-1967) and Marie-Louis (1912-1997) Erlenmeyer collection, Basel.
The Erlenmeyer Collection of Cretan Seals; Christie's, London, 5 June 1989, lot 146.
Private collection, acquired at the above sale and housed in the UK.
Published:
J. Boardman, Greek Gems and Finger Rings: Early Bronze Age to Late Classical, London, 1970, p. 120, pl. 223.
Seal engravers working on Melos in the 7th Century B.C. commonly used motifs from the late Bronze Age in their work, such as geometric designs and schematic quadrupeds, as well as contemporary orientalising Greek motifs such as winged horses. A limited repertoire of mythological scenes were also depicted. The erotic scene engraved on this seal, however, is exceedingly rare.
It has been suggested that this seal may depict a maenad running through a woodland scene on side A, before encountering a satyr on side B.