Scaraboid Intaglio with a Siren Playing the Lyre

AAT Object Form/Functionfigures (representations)

AAT Object Form/Functionscaraboids

AAT Object Form/Functiongems (worked stones)

AAT Object Techniqueintaglios (sculptural objects)

Place FoundAfghanistan, Asia

CultureGraeco-Persian

PeriodClassical

Date5th Century BCE

MediumChalcedony (microcrystalline quartz)

Credit LineGift of the Estate of Michael J. Shubin

Dimensions13/16 x 11/16 x 1/4 in. (2.1 x 1.7 x 0.6 cm)

Object number2008.030.028

Label TextSiren facing right, playing a lyre.
Exhibition HistoryMonsters, Demons & Winged Beasts: Composite Creatures in the Ancient World, Michael C. Carlos Museum, February 5 - June 19, 2011
Published ReferencesIngrid Maren Furniss, Lutes and Marginality in Pre-Modern China: Art History, Archaeology, and Music Iconography (New York: Routledge, 2025), 114, Figure 5.7.

ProvenanceEx coll. Ahmad Saeedi, London, England, said to have come from family estate in Iran. Ex coll. Michael Shubin (1950-2008), Montebello, California, acquired from Joel Malter (1931-2006) [Joel L. Malter & Co., Inc.], Los Angeles, California, November 23, 1997.

Status

Not on view

Collections