1986.553: Glass Scaraboid with Herakles and the Nemean lion

Identification and Creation

Object Number

1986.553

Title

Glass Scaraboid with Herakles and the Nemean lion

Classification

Gems

Work Type

gem

Date

425-375 BCE

Places

Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World

Period

Classical period

Culture

Greek

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/289087

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Pale green glass

Technique

Intaglio

Dimensions

2.5 x 2.9 x 1 cm (1 x 1 1/8 x 3/8 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History

Damon Mezzacappa, gift; to the Harvard Art Museum, 1986.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Damon Mezzacappa

Accession Year

1986

Object Number

1986.553

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Description

Glass scaraboid (intaglio gem in the shape of a beetle). Herakles wrestles the Nemean lion. on the left, a beardless Herakles stands facing the lion, both are in profile. Herakles raises his right arm, as if to hold a club. Many facial details have not survived, however, his close-cropped hair, brow, and ear are visible. The lion faces Herakles with his head near the hero's chest. Herakles' lower legs as well as the lion's hindlegs are missing.

The figures are deeply cut indicating that the design was cut into the glass rather than molded.

Publication History

• G. Max Bernheimer, "Catalog of the Greek Engraved Gems in the Collection of the Harvard University Art Museums" (1988), p. 46-47, no. 11

Verification Level