Lot 7
7
A GREEK CARNELIAN SCARAB WITH A CRICKET
A GREEK CARNELIAN SCARAB WITH A CRICKET
A GREEK CARNELIAN SCARAB WITH A CRICKET
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A GREEK CARNELIAN SCARAB WITH A CRICKET

ARCHAIC PERIOD, CIRCA EARLY 5TH CENTURY B.C.

Details
A GREEK CARNELIAN SCARAB WITH A CRICKET
ARCHAIC PERIOD, CIRCA EARLY 5TH CENTURY B.C.
9/16 in. (1.4 cm.) long
Provenance
Giorgio Sangiorgi (1886-1965), Rome, acquired and brought to Switzerland, late 1930s; thence by continuous descent to the current owners.
Literature
C. Weiss, "Heuschrecken auf griechischen Vasen und in der Glyptik," in Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum, Beiheft 2, Vienna, 2015, pp. 299-300 and 306, fig. 1.
J. Boardman and C. Wagner, Masterpieces in Miniature: Engraved Gems from Prehistory to the Present, London, 2018, p. 36, no. 29.

Lot Essay

It is difficult to determine the type of insect intended on the underside of this scarab. C. Weiss (op. cit., pp. 299-300) suggests a grasshopper (Heuschrecke) while Boardman and Wagner (op. cit., p. 36) say cricket. That a female is indicated is confirmed by the presence of the ovipositor extending from the abdomen, found on both species.

The scarab is nicely-detailed with a hatched border around the thorax and V-shaped winglets.

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