Intaglio Gem Depicting Cupid Tormenting a Centaur

AAT Object Form/Functionfigures (representations)

AAT Object Techniqueintaglios (sculptural objects)

AAT Object Form/Functiongems (worked stones)

CultureRoman

PeriodRepublican

Datelate 1st Century BCE

MediumMicrocrystalline quartz, var. carnelian

Credit LineGift of the Estate of Michael J. Shubin

Dimensions1/2 x 1/8 x 5/8 in. (1.3 x 0.3 x 1.6 cm)

Object number2012.032.149

Label TextThis intaglio depicts a tiny Eros riding on the back of a centaur, binding his arms behind his back with a pair of reins. The motif repeats the iconography of a marble statue, signed by the sculptors Aristeas and Papias of Aphrodisias (in modern Turkey), found at the emperor Hadrian’s villa at Tivoli. Both the statue and the gem may reference an earlier sculpture probably created during the 2nd century BCE. The image visualises a popular theme in Hellenistic poetry: the power of love to tame and torment even the wildest creatures. According to the natural historian Pliny the Elder, cornelian was well suited for use as a seal because its carved surface left a crisp impression (Pliny Natural History 37.88).
Exhibition HistoryMaking an Impression: The Art and Craft of Ancient Engraved Gemstones, Michael C. Carlos Museum, August 27 - November 27, 2022
Published ReferencesGorny & Mosch, Kunst der Antike, Auktion 140 (21. Juni 2005), 82-83, lot 219.

ProvenanceEx private collection, Germany. Ex coll. Michael Shubin (1950-2008), Montebello, California, purchased from Gorny & Mosch, Auction 140, Munich, Germany, June 21, 2005, lot 219.

Status

Not on view

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