2012.1.151: Intaglio: Eagle Holding a Wreath and Perched on a Mountain

Identification and Creation

Object Number

2012.1.151

Title

Intaglio: Eagle Holding a Wreath and Perched on a Mountain

Classification

Gems

Work Type

gem

Date

1st-4th Century

Period

Roman Imperial period

Culture

Roman

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/72424

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Jasper

Technique

Intaglio

Dimensions

1.9 cm (3/4 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History

Eleftherios Sossidi, Hamburg, (between 1955-65 - 1990's), sold; [through Sotheby's sale 7742, New York, December 7, 2001, lot 314]; to The Alice Corinne McDaniel Collection, Department of the Classics, Harvard University (2001-2012), transfer; to the Harvard Art Museums, 2012.

Note: E. Sossidi (1913-1992) worked in Cairo from 1958-1968.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Transfer from the Alice Corinne McDaniel Collection, Department of the Classics, Harvard University

Accession Year

2012

Object Number

2012.1.151

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Description

Red jasper intaglio with an eagle, body turned to the left, head to the right, holding a wreath in its beak and perched on the central peak of a mountain. A crescent moon and star are in the field at left and two stars in the field at right. The mountain is textured with vertical hatch marks and at the bottom center are circular shapes, perhaps representing caves.

Publication History

• Simone Michel, Die magischen Gemmen: Zu Bildern und Zauberformeln auf geschnittenen Steinen der Antike und Neuzeit, Akademie Verlag (Berlin, Germany, 2004), 237, no. 1.1.a (as Sossidi 13).

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