ClassificationsGreek and Roman Art

Intaglio Gem Depicting the Conjoined Heads of a Silenus, Ram, and Horse with Rooster Legs

AAT Object Form/Functiongems (worked stones)

AAT Object Form/Functionheads (representations)

AAT Object Techniqueintaglios (sculptural objects)

CultureRoman

PeriodImperial

Date2nd-3rd Century CE

MediumMicrocrystalline quartz, var. heliotrope (bloodstone)

Credit LineGift of the Estate of Michael J. Shubin

Dimensions9/16 x 7/16 x 1/16 in. (1.4 x 1.1 x 0.2 cm)

Object number2008.031.074

Label TextThis intaglio is engraved with a composite creature consisting of a Silenus mask, the head of a ram with ears of wheat in its mouth, a bridled horse head, and rooster legs. The motif is common on gems, as well as elsewhere in art and literature, and may have been intended to avert harm by inspiring laughter (Horace, Ars Poetica I, 1 – 5; Plutarch Quaest. Conviv. 5.7.681). Here, the ears of wheat suggest the gem was instead worn for fertility or wealth, its amuletic potential enhanced by the addition of a star and crescent moon on either side of the figure, and the selection of a heliotrope stone.

Exhibition HistoryMonsters, Demons & Winged Beasts: Composite Creatures in the Ancient World, Michael C. Carlos Museum, February 5 - June 19, 2011
Making an Impression: The Art and Craft of Ancient Engraved Gemstones, Michael C. Carlos Museum, August 27 - November 27, 2022
Published ReferencesGorny & Mosch Giessener Munzhandlung, Kunst der Antike (December 14, 2005), 88-89, lot 230.
Kenneth Lapatin, "Grylloi," in 'Gems of Heaven': Recent Research on Engraved Gemstones in Late Antiquity c. AD 200-600, ed. Christopher Entwistle and Noel Adams (London: The Trustees of the British Museum), 89, plate 8.

ProvenanceEx private collection, North Germany. Ex coll. Michael Shubin (1950-2008), Montebello, California, purchased from Gorny & Mosch, December 14, 2005, lot 230.

Status

Not on view

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