ClassificationsGreek and Roman Art
Intaglio with Warrior Contemplating a Decapitated Head
AAT Object Form/Functiongems (worked stones)
AAT Object Techniqueintaglios (sculptural objects)
AAT Object Form/Functionfigures (representations)
CultureItalic
PeriodHellenistic
Date2nd Century BCE
Credit LineGift of the Estate of Michael J. Shubin
Dimensions7/16 x 5/16 x 1/16 in. (1.1 x 0.8 x 0.2 cm)
Object number2008.031.015
Label TextA nude and bearded warrior wearing a crested helmet and carrying a shield over his shoulder stands in three-quarter profile over the decapitated body of a defeated enemy. He rests his one foot on its chest and gazes at the severed head, held in his upraised hand. Hatched border.This was a common motif on Etruscan and Italic glytic. Sometimes referred to as a scene of maschalismos (mutilation of the enemy dead), it may represent a specific episode from the Seven Against Thebes in which the dying Tydeus orders Amphilaraos to bring hiim the head of Melanippos, whom he had killed in battle. The Theban myth cycle was especially popular on Etruscan gems, often with unique iconographies not borrowed from Greek glyptic.
ProvenanceEx coll. Michael Shubin (1950-2008), Montebello, California, purchased from Frank Sternberg AG, Zurich, Switzerland, November 7 or 8, 1994.
Status
Not on viewCollections
- Greek and Roman Art
1st-2nd Century CE
early 4th Century BCE
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
1769
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
1769
1st Century CE
late 19th Century
1st Century BCE
ca. 4th Century CE
883-859 BCE
2435-2306 BCE
20th Century
15th Century
