Intaglio Gem Depicting Hermaphroditos

CultureGreek, Ptolemaic

PeriodHellenistic

Date2nd Century BCE

MediumGarnet group, pyrope

Credit LineGift of John and Pat Laszlo

DimensionsMaximum: 5/8 × 7/8 × 3/16 in. (1.6 × 2.2 × 0.5 cm)

Object number2017.053.005

Label TextReferencing the iconography of a large-scale Hellenistic statue type, this intaglio depicts a semi-nude Hermaphroditos standing against a column and holding a lyre and plectrum, his low-slung drapery revealing male genitals and female breasts. A son of Hermes and Aphrodite, Hermaphroditos was transformed when his body merged with that of the nymph Salmacis, who was so overcome with desire for the boy that she begged the gods to never let them separate. Representations of the bi-sexual god were popular in the Hellenistic period. They appear frequently on engraved and moulded glass gems, often in erotic and Dionysiac contexts where his seductive charm emphasized the decorative function of the stone and the transformative potential of adornment.

Exhibition HistoryMCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, September 2004 - October 28, 2013
Making an Impression: The Art and Craft of Ancient Engraved Gemstones, Michael C. Carlos Museum, August 27 - November 27, 2022
MCCM Permanent Collection Galleries, November 7, 2023 - Present

ProvenanceEx coll. Ernst Herzfeld (1879-1948), Princeton, New Jersey. With Brummer Gallery, New York, purchased from Herzfeld, July 11, 1944. Sold by Brummer to Maxime Velay, New York, New York, September 18, 1944. Returned to Brummer Gallery for credit by Velay, March 19, 1945. Ex coll. Ernest Brummer (1891-1964), New York, New York, from ca. 1949. Thence by descent.

Status

On view

Collections