Lot 25
Roman, Imperial period, ca. 1st to 3rd century CE. An exemplary jasper intaglio depicting the famous, Classical story of Leda and the swan set into a 20th-century gold ring. The ovoid stone displays the image of a reclining, nude Leda in the process of being seduced by Zeus in the form of a swan who gracefully spreads his great wings, lowering his body between the legs of his lover. Hair elegantly pulled back in a chignon, the semi-recumbent beauty props herself up with one arm while the other reaches out to stroke the plumage of the bird. In response, he arches his sinuous neck, bowing his head to brush his bill against her lips. This amorous intaglio is horizontally set into the gold ring via 4 prongs on the sides and 6 on the top and bottom, connecting it to the trifurcated, openwork band. Size of ring: 0.9" L x 0.75" W (2.3 cm x 1.9 cm); of intaglio: 0.6" L x 0.4" W (1.5 cm x 1 cm); US ring size: 5.75; quality of gold: 45.37% (equivalent to over 10 karats); weight: 3.3 grams
The swan played a complex role in Greek and Roman mythology - as the attribute of Aphrodite and Apollo, said to sing a song of unearthly beauty as it dies. The avian form assumed by Zeus, as seen in this example, was utilized as a symbolic "wolf in sheep's clothing" to ravish Leda, Queen of Sparta. Leda was the daughter of Thestios, the King of Pleuron, and was thought to be one of the most beautiful women in creation. Zeus, observing her beauty from his throne on Mount Olympus for years, decided to engage in relations with Leda when she came of age. On the day Leda was to marry Tyndareus, King of Sparta, Zeus assumed the form of a graceful swan and presented himself to the unsuspecting woman. After impregnating Leda on the day she was to lay with her new husband, she bore two eggs from which her four children were hatched: from Zeus, Helen of Troy and Polydeucus; from Tyndareus, Castor and Clytemnestra.
Provenance: private Danvers, Massachusetts, USA collection, acquired by descent; ex-USA collection, acquired before 2000
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#179193
- Condition: Ancient intaglio set in a 20th-century gold ring to be wearable. Nicks to verso of intaglio with one or two minor abrasions and a light scratch to face, but imagery is still very clear. Otherwise, intaglio and ring are both in excellent condition with nice preservation of incised detail. Accompanied by modern, custom ring box and ring cushion.
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