Lot 39
Lot 39
A ROMAN SARDONYX RINGSTONE WITH THE CAPITOLINE TRIAD

IMPERIAL PERIOD, CIRCA 1ST CENTURY A.D.

Price Realised USD 52,920
Estimate
USD 15,000 - USD 20,000
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A ROMAN SARDONYX RINGSTONE WITH THE CAPITOLINE TRIAD

IMPERIAL PERIOD, CIRCA 1ST CENTURY A.D.

Price Realised USD 52,920
Price Realised USD 52,920
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Details
118 in. (2.8 cm.) wide
Provenance
Wyndham Francis Cook (1860-1905), London; thence by descent to his widow, Frederica Evelyn Stillwell Cook (d. 1925), London; thence by descent to her son, Humphrey W. Cook (1893-1978), London.
An Important Collection of Greek, Roman and Etruscan Antiquities and Antique and Renaissance Gems, the Property of Humphrey W. Cook, Esq., Christie's, London, 14-16 July 1925, lot 411.
Seltmann, acquired from the above (according to auctioneer's book; probably Charles T. Seltman (1886-1957), Cambridge, the art historian and numismatist).
Arthur Bernard Cook (1868-1952), Cambridge, acquired by 1940.
Property of Professor A.B. Cook; Antiquities, Sotheby's, London, 15-16 January 1952, lot 73.
Ascher, acquired from the above (according to auctioneer's book; probably Ernest Ascher (1888-1953), Paris).
Giorgio Sangiorgi (1886-1965), Rome, acquired and brought to Switzerland; thence by continuous descent to the current owner.
Literature
A.B. Cook, Zeus: A Study in Ancient Religion, Cambridge, 1940, vol. 3, pp. 39-41, fig. 10.
J. Boardman and C. Wagner, Masterpieces in Miniature: Engraved Gems from Prehistory to the Present, London, 2018, p. 196, no. 182.
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Lot Essay

On this convex circular stone is the Capitoline Triad, Juno, Jupiter and Minerva, each enthroned on clouds. Jupiter is at the center holding a scepter, with Minerva on one side, wearing a helmet and holding a scepter, and Juno on the other, with a scepter and a phiale. Emerging from either side is a wind god, each blowing a shell trumpet. Below them are Selene driving a biga followed by Sol driving a quadriga. Further below Oceanus reclines, his elbow on a toppled vase. For another gem depicting the Triad enthroned, see no. 516 in F. Canciani and A. Costantini, "Zeus/Iuppiter," in LIMC, vol. VIII. The addition of the Winds, the Sun, the Moon and the Ocean is unique.
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Masterpieces in Miniature: Ancient Engraved Gems formerly in the G. Sangiorgi Collection Part III